THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


Lieut.  John  Farley,  ist  U.  S.  Artillery. 


OVER  SEAS 


IN 


EARLY  DAYS. 


(1828-29). 


BY 


LIEUT.  JOHN  FARLEY,  U.  S.  A. 


Edited  by 
JOSEPH  PEARSON  FARLEY,  U.  S.  A. 


Dedication  to  My  Honored  Father. 


These  fragments  remain  to  show.     They  still  exist 

and  may  still  exist  long  after  we  shall  have  passed  away 

and  been  forgotten. 

Letter  from  Rome,  1829. 


PREFACE. 


. 


There  has  recently  come  into  my  possession  a  pack- 
age of  old  letters  and  papers  written  by  my  father  many 
years  ago,  some  of  them  dated  West  Point,  N.  Y.,  1820, 
three  years  before  he  graduated  from  the  Military 
Academy. 

Through  the  courtesy  of  the  editor  of  the  Journal  of 
the  Military  Service  Institution,  General  T.  F.  Roden- 
bough,  U.   S.  A.,  I  have  been  able  to  present  to  the 
reader  the   major  part  of  my   father's   correspondence 
^from  Europe  in  1828-29.     The  package  of  old  papers 
T<4  found  in  1905,  in  the  attic  of  a  house  on  Capitol  Hill, 
(g  Washington,  D.  C,  which  was  razed  for  the  purpose  of 
>0  extending  the  grounds,  bore  the  remark,  "These  papers 
"^<  may  be  of  some  use."     This  has  induced  me  to  publish 
7\|  the  whole  series  in  concrete  form,  but  before  so  doing 
^  I  must  emphasize  by  repetition  the  observation  on  page 
— ,  first  paragraph  of  a  letter  dated  Paris,  August  25, 
1828,  where  the  writer  says :  "You  request  me  in  your 
last  letter  to  give  you  a  minute  account  of  what  trans- 
pires from  day  to  day,  but  I  must  consider  before  I  should 
attempt  it ;  however  replete  these  new  scenes  may  be  with 
interest  and  novelty  for  me,  a  description  of  them  may 
be  quite  uninteresting  to  a  reader.     I  have  a  great  aver- 
sion to  journalizing,  and  will  for  that  reason  only  give 
you  a  cursory  account  of  the  most  remarkable  objects 
I  have  visited." 

5 

550328    ■ 


CONTENTS. 


Ocean  Voyage  in  a  Packet  Ship 9 

Dover  Castle 13 

Paris 18 

"La  Grange" — Lafayette 26 

"The  Hermitage" — Rousseau 34 

Cathedral  of  San  Denis 36 

Paris  to  Geneva 38 

Geneva  to  Florence 38 

Florence — Art 40 

Florence  to  Rome 45 

Rome — St.  Peters 56 

Appointment  of  Cardinals 72 

Roman  Society 76 

The  Vatican 80 

Rome  and  its  Ruins 87 

Rome  to  Naples 103 

Rome — Forum — Colosseum 107 

Naples 113 

Genoa  to  Nice 118 

A  Descriptive  Letter  with  Remarks  by  J.  P.  F 1 23 

Appendix — (J.  P.  F.) 135 

Addenda 147 


Over  Seas  in  Early  Days. 

y 

I. 

On  Board  the  Shenandoah, 
Of  Caps  Henry,  Va.,  July  i,  1828. 

Thk  pilot  is  about  leaving  us,  and  I  cannot  neglect  the 
opportunity  of  sending  you  a  few  lines  previous  to  my  de- 
parture. To-morrow  will  place  many  leagues  between 
me  and  my  native  shores,  which  I  cannot  leave  without 
feelings  of  regret,  only  ameliorated  by  the  consolation 
that  I  may  ere  long  revisit  them. 

We  had  a  tedious  trip  of  six  days  from  Washing- 
ton to  this  place,  but  the  first  two  or  three  days  were 
in  some  measure  relieved  of  their  monotony  by  the  nov- 
elty of  being  on  shipboard,  and  the  delightful  anticipa- 
tion of  being  about  to  realize  all  my  early  and  cherished 
expectations. 

I  hail  this  as  a  new  and  gladsome  era  of  my  life,  and 
one  which,  if  properly  improved,  will  eventuate  in  future 
profit  as  well  as  present  pleasure. 

On  leaving  Alexandria  we  had  the  promise  of  a  fair 
wind,  and  the  excitement  and  bustle  attendant  on  getting 
under  way  was  truly  exhilarating,  but  since  then  we  have 
had  continual  calms.  These  have  been  compensated  in 
some  measure  by  the  unusual  loveliness  of  the  evenings 


io  OVER  SEAS 

at  this  season  of  the  year.  If  you  wish  to  have  a  specimen 
of  my  descriptive  powers,  I  will  give  a  moonlight  scene  on 
shipboard. 

It  was  on  Sunday  evening.  The  sky  was  serene  and 
cloudless,  the  air  was  pure  and  balmy  as  it  blew  faintly 
from  the  shore  with  just  force  enough  to  make  the  flag- 
ging sails  swing  heavily  against  the  mast.  The  creaking 
helm  seemed  to  chide  our  inactivity.  The  moon  was  at 
the  full  and  shone  out  with  unusual  resplendence,  and, 
reflected  on  the  calm  mirror  of  the  waters,  seemed  an 
expanse  of  molten  silver  beneath  us.  Above,  the  dark 
masts  and  spars  of  the  vessel  ,vere  thrown  in  deep  shade 
and  showed  their  well-defined  outlines  in  bold  relief  upon 
the  pure  blue  sky.  At  this  time  we  had  dropped  down 
the  river  as  far  as  the  tide  would  permit,  and  orders  were 
given  by  the  pilot  to  come  to  anchor  for  the  night.  This 
order  was  cheerfully  obeyed,  the  sailors  becoming  weary 
of  inaction ;  and  my  reveries  occasioned  by  the  tranquil- 
lity of  the  scene  were  interrupted  by  the  hoarse  mandates 
of  the  pilot,  the  spirited  "Heave  yeo!"  of  the  seamen, 
and  the  discordant  rattling  of  the  blocks  and  rigging. 
With  all  the  alacrity  attendant  on  marine  discipline  the 
sails  were  soon  clewed  up  and  taken  in  as  if  by  magic,  and 
as  the  last  lumbering  sound  of  the  ponderous  cable  died 
away  upon  the  waters  each  one  repaired  to  his  post. 
Some,  however,  collected  together  in  groups  to  rehearse 
their  adventures  or  to  become  better  acquainted,  having 
most  of  them  met  on  this  voyage  for  the  first  time.  The 
low  and  suppressed  hum  of  their  voices  continued  for  a 
time,   with  occasional  loud  merriment  at  some  happy 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  n 

effort  of  wit  from  a  jovial  comrade,  until,  weariness  or  in- 
clination inviting  repose,  they  betook  themselves  without 
choice  to  the  hard  planks  of  the  deck  or  threw  themselves 
on  the  water-casks  or  capstan  for  their  bed,  and  enjoyed 
a  slumber  more  refreshing  than  I  could  find  in  my  state- 
room. 

>l'  SfC  -jC  5fC  3|!  «1»  5J» 

After  leaving  the  Chesapeake  Bay  and  getting  out  to 
sea,  I  experienced  a  feeling  of  solitude  and  isolation  which 
I  cannot  well  describe.  I  had  seen  the  last  faint  outline 
of  the  receding  coast  fade  away  in  the  west  with  the  set- 
ting sun,  and  even  after  the  darkness  had  closed  in  upon 
the  horizon  we  could  still  descry  the  light-house  beacon 
at  its  extreme  verge,  which  appeared 

"  Like  a  star  in  the  midst  of  the  ocean." 

As  it  gradually  receded,  and  finally  disappeared  beneath 
the  waves,  with  every  other  vestige  of  our  lovely  land,  I 
could  not  help  recalling  to  mind  those  sentiments  which 
Byron  so  well  expressed  in  a  similar  case  in  his  "Childe 
Harold." 

When  I  ascended  the  deck  the  next  morning  no  traces 
of  land  were  to  be  seen,  and  the  sea  had  assumed  that 
deep  azure  tint  which  is  so  peculiarly  remarkable  out  of 
Soundings,  where  it  is  always  of  a  green  color.  As  far  as 
the  eye  could  reach  nothing  could  be  seen  but  an  endless 
succession  of  billows  crested  with  foam,  around  which 
Sported  innumerable  sea-birds  following  untiringly  in  our 
wake,  as  if  to  accompany  us  on  our  lonely  voyage.  There 
was  a  companionship  in  their  presence  and  a  kind  of  re- 


12  OVER  SEAS 

lief  in  having  some  object  for  the  eye  to  rest  upon  in  this 
vast  waste  of  waters.  The  kind  of  sea-birds  commonly 
known  among  sailors  as  "Mother  Carey's  chickens"  are 
very  peculiar  in  their  habits,  and  passengers,  generally 
for  want  of  other  amusement,  soon  make  acquaintance 
with  them.  They  follow  in  the  wake  of  vessels  fre- 
quently for  more  than  a  thousand  miles,  seeming 
never  to  rest  or  sleep,  and  subsisting  on  the  refuse  food 
that  may  chance  to  fall  from  the  vessel. 

The  novelty  of  the  open  ocean  soon  wore  off ;  and  the 
days  of  imprisonment  seemed  to  drag  "their  slow  length 
along"  with  most  tiresome  monotony,  and  the  occasional 
sight  even  of  a  piece  of  driftwood  or  a  mass  of  sea-weed 
had  something  interesting  in  it. 

An  ice  island,  the  spouting  of  a  whale,  or  a  school  of 
porpoises  were  great  and  remarkable  incidents  faute  de 
mieux,  and  if  perchance  a  sail  hove  in  sight,  the  anxiety 
became  intense  to  know  her  name  and  destination.  Day 
after  day  presented  nearly  the  same  scene.  We  were 
going  onward  and  onward  with  rapidity;  but  still  there 
was  no  landmark  of  reference  to  show  that  we  gained  on 
our  long  journey.  We  were  still  in  the  center  of  suc- 
ceeding circles  whose  bounds  were  in  successive  horizons. 
The  sun  rose  and  set  in  the  sea  again  and  again  with  the 
same  stupid  rotation.  We  seemed  excluded  from  the 
world — a  mere  fragment  of  matter,  and  yet  a  little  world 
within  our  own  sphere;  or,  as  Irving  says  in  his  "Sketch 
Book,"  "Like  a  fragment  of  a  world,  we  were  hastening 
on  to  join  the  general  mass  of  existence." 

You  may  judge  of  my  delight  when  we  entered  once 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  13 

more  the  green  waves  whose  color  told  us  we  were  on 
soundings.  The  lead  was  thrown  and  indicated  sixty  or 
Seventy  fathoms.  Still  we  were  a  great  distance  from 
land.  Some  sand  and  shells  were  brought  up,  and  I  first 
hailed  from  them  the  soil  of  old  England.  It  was  my 
original  intention  to  land  at  Cowes,  in  the  Isle  of  Wight, 
thence  to  have  proceeded  by  the  way  of  Havre  to  Paris ; 
but  as  no  pilot-boats  were  off  that  place,  I  was  compelled 
to  land  at  Dover. 

On  leaving  the  ship  I  felt  as  if  I  had  parted  with  all 
that  was  American,  and  followed  with  my  eye  our  flag 
until  it  was  lost  from  sight  by  the  projecting  cliffs  that 
jut  out  at  this  part  of  the  British  Channel.  These  cliffs, 
which  at  a  distance  appear  like  an  immense  wall  or 
fortification,  extend  up  the  Channel  a  considerable  dis- 
tance, and  to  the  eye  unaccustomed  to  such  scenery 
create  an  optical  illusion  by  which  we  cannot  correctly 
judge  of  the  magnitude  or  height  of  the  cliffs  except  by  a 
near  comparison  of  them  with  the  shipping  and  buildings 
in  their  vicinity,  which  shrink  into  comparative  insig- 
nificance. Being  composed  of  chalk,  they  have  a  beau- 
tiful white  appearance.  They  are  surmounted  by  the 
towers  and  battlements  of  this  well-known  Dover  Castle, 
and  the  town  is  embosomed  in  a  delightful  valley  or 
ravine  at  their  base.  The  houses  are  generally  built  in 
this  valley  or  around  a  semi-circular  beach,  among  the 
surf  of  which  our  boat  was  run  ashore. 

It  was  doubtless  at  this  place  that  the  Roman  legions 
effected  their  landing  when  they  made  a  descent  upon 
the  island,  and  my  fancy  was  indulged  for  a  moment  in 


i4  OVER  SEAS 

conjuring  up  the  disciplined  legions  and  cohorts  of  Caesar, 
whose  motto  was  ever  "Vent,  vidi,  vici,"  and  imagining 
the  frowning  battlements  to  be  peopled  with  the  barbaric 
hordes  of  ancient  Britons.  In  such  fancies  and  the  pleas- 
urable sensations  created  by  first  setting  foot  upon  the 
soil  of  our  ancestors  I  would  willingly  have  indulged  had 
they  not  been  interrupted  by  the  matter-of-fact  circum- 
stances of  being  annoyed  by  a  crowd  of  lackeys,  custom- 
house officers,  and  porters,  whose  importunity  was  worthy 
of  a  better  cause. 

I  stayed  here  but  one  day,  during  which  I  had  ample 
opportunity  to  visit  the  castle  and  neighboring  cliffs.  It 
was  gratifying  to  meet  at  my  outset  that  which  in  my 
youthful  notions  and  early  love  of  the  picturesque  seemed 
most  desirable  to  be  seen — an  old  castle  and  in  ruins ! 
Here  was  the  antique  and  picturesque,  and  I  thought 
myself  almost  compensated  at  first  for  the  toil  of  my 
journey.  I  promised  myself  a  rich  treat  in  exploring  its 
turrets,  cells,  and  covert  way,  and  am  happy  to  say  I  was 
not  disappointed.  As  the  packet-boat  did  not  start  for 
Calais  until  the  next  day,  I  took  a  ramble  along  a  cir- 
cuitous path  in  the  direction  of  the  castle,  which  led  to  the 
main  entrance  or  gate.  Here  an  old  pensioner  met  me 
and  volunteered  to  show  me  the  interior.  He  was  de- 
crepit and  garrulous,  and  gave  me  even  more  information 
than  I  wanted.  He  hobbled  on  before  as  well  as  his 
wooden  stump  and  the  infirmity  of  age  would  allow,  and 
at  every  step  rehearsed  his  oft -repeated  story.  He  was 
an   old   veteran,    who    gained   a    precarious  subsistence 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  15 

from  the  bounty  of  the  curious,  and  well  earned  his  half- 
crown  fee. 

I  was  pleased  with  the  specimens  of  Roman,  Saxon, 
and  Norman  architecture  which  were  here  confusedly 
blended  together,  showing  the  progressive  improvements 
in  ancient  warfare  in  different  ages  contrasted  with  the 
modern.  This  fortress,  once  impregnable  before  the  in- 
troduction of  firearms,  is  a  demonstration  of  the  total  in- 
efficiency of  ancient  defenses  to  sustain  a  modern  siege. 

What  is  called  defilement  or  commandment  was  for- 
merly unknown,  and  this  noble  work,  which  if  isolated 
would  still  be  a  stronghold,  may  be  battered  without 
difficulty  from  the  neighboring  hills. 

It  is  surprising  that  no  authentic  traditions  remain 
and  no  manuscripts  or  chronicles  of  its  early  history  are 
extant,  except  those  traditions  that  are  full  of  exagger- 
ation. By  some  the  castle  was  said  to  have  been  built  by 
Julius  Csesar,  and  others,  with  more  probability,  tell  us  it 
was  built  under  Claudius  Caesar  in  the  year  43,  when 
Plautus  was  Consul;  others  say  in  49. 

The  characteristic  feature  or  horizontal  trace  is  de- 
cidedly Roman.  The  form  of  the  camp,  ditch,  parapet, 
and  octagonal  outworks  also  indicate  Roman  work,  not- 
withstanding their  high  parapets  and  deep  ditches  show 
the  innovations  of  Norman  and  Saxon  engineering. 

I  passed  through  the  portal  of  the  keep  and  under  a 
noble  archway,  where  the  remains  of  an  old  portcullis 
are  to  be  seen.  Near  this,  I  was  told,  was  the  constable's 
tower,  in  which  are  the  old  keys  and  the  warden's  horn. 

The  keep  is  a  kind  of  citadel  in  the  interior  of  the 


1 6  OVER  SEAS 

work,  which  was  erected  by  order  of  William  the  Con- 
queror after  the  design  of  Crundulpt,  Bishop  of  Rochester. 
Being  erected  in  1154,  it  is  now  675  years  old.  The  gar- 
rison now  occupies  it  as  a  barrack  and  magazine,  where  I 
had  the  gratification  of  seeing  a  well-disciplined  detach- 
ment of  the  Forty-first  Regiment  just  returned  from 
India.     The  garrison  at  present  is  300  strong. 

I  could  not  but  witness  with  regret  the  demolition 
which  was  being  made,  of  a  part  of  this  venerable  antique 
structure  to  give  way  to  some  modern  improvements. 

The  well,  calculated  for  supplying  the  garrison  in  time 
of  siege,  is  380  feet  deep,  the  heights  being  only  300  feet. 

Upon  the  apex  of  the  hill,  within  the  walls,  is  the 
most  interesting  antiquity,  called  the  Pharos ;  the  date  of 
its  erection  is  unknown,  but  I  was  told  by  my  guide  that 
it  was  attributed  to  Julius  Caesar's  time.  Near  this  is  a 
ruined  church,  or  perhaps  a  temple,  from  which  we  have 
a  most  extensive  view  of  the  British  Channel  and  the 
adjacent  country.  The  whole  fortress  is  built  of  silicious 
rubble  interlaid  with  Roman  tiles,  which  has  become  as 
indurated  as  stone  by  time,  and  the  walls,  which  are  gen- 
erally six  feet  thick,  bid  fair  to  withstand  the  storms  of  as 
many  ages  as  have  already  passed  over  them.  It  is  mor- 
tifying to  human  pride  to  contrast  these  enduring  piles 
with  our  own  ephemeral  existence. 

The  beauty  of  the  prospect  can  hardly  be  imagined 
by  an  American,  whose  eye  is  accustomed  to  rest  on  in- 
terminable forests,  in  contemplating  the  aspect  of  English 
landscape.  The  country,  everywhere  cleared  up  and 
pruned  of  trees,  presents  a  continued  succession  of  richly 


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IN  EARLY  DAYS.  17 

cultivated  fields  and  variegated  colors  of  the  ripening 
grain,  grass  enclosures,  and  the  well-harrowed  soil  inter- 
spersed with  neat  and  beautiful  thatched  cottages. 

My  guide's  loquacity  marred  my  enjoyment  consid- 
erably, and,  desiring  me  to  descend  by  one  of  the  court- 
ways  of  the  parapet  to  a  small  battery  below,  he  showed 
me  that  celebrated  piece  of  ordnance  well  known  by  the 
name  of  "Queen  Elizabeth's  Pocket-piece."  It  was  cast 
in  Utrecht  in  1544  and  presented  to  the  Queen  by  the 
States  of  Holland.  It  carries  a  twelve-pound  shot  about 
as  far  as  an  eighteen-pounder.  It  was  fabled  to  carry  a 
ball  to  "Calais  green." 

This  handsome  piece  has  been  lately  remounted  on 
an  elegant  brass  carriage  presented  by  the  Duke  of  Wel- 
lington. On  the  chase  of  the  piece  is  an  inscription  in 
old  Dutch,  which  not  being  able  to  decipher,  I  rely  on  my 
learned  guide  for  the  following  translation : 

"  Over  hill,  over  dale  I  carry  my  ball, 
And  break  my  way  through  mound  and  wall.'" 


1 8  OVER  SEAS 


II. 

Paris,  August  25,  1828. 

*  *  *  You  request  me  in  your  last  letter  to  give 
you  a  minute  account  of  what  transpires  from  day  to  day, 
but  I  must  consider  before  I  should  attempt  it ;  however 
replete  these  scenes  may  be  with  interest  and  novelty  for 
me,  a  description  of  them  may  be  quite  uninteresting  to  a 
reader.  I  have  a  great  aversion  to  journalizing,  and  I 
will  for  that  reason  only  give  you  a  cursory  account  of  the 
most  remarkable  objects  I  have  visited. 

Nearly  every  day  since  my  arrival  has  been  pleas- 
antly and  profitably  occupied.*  On  the  first  day  I 
alighted  from  the  diligence  at  the  H6tel  Montmorenci, 
where  the  Americans  generally  resort ;  but  not  finding  the 
accommodations  so  good  as  I  wished,  I  soon  after  looked 
out  for  more  agreeable  quarters.  I  joined  some  of  my 
countrymen  in  their  mess  at  No.  2  Rue  Vivienne.  On 
the  first  day  the  time  hung  heavily  upon  my  hands,  and 
I  sallied  out  alone  to  while  away  the  time.  I  bent  my 
way  at  random  down  the  Rue  Richelieu,  and  accidentally 
found  myself  in  the  Place  du  Carrousel  in  front  of  the  royal 
palace  of  the  Tuileries.     I  was  not  struck  with  its  ap- 


*  At  another  point  in  correspondence  he  says:  "I  have  ap- 
plied myself  to  the  study  of  lithographic  drawing,  in  pursuance  of 
the  instructions  and  request  of  the  War  Department,  and  I  am 
pleased  to  be  able  to  send  you  a  specimen  of  my  '  First  Trial,' 
which  has  been  very  successful." 


> 


if 


Tliis  sketch  was  on  exhibition  in  the  Capitol  building,  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  and  it  is  said  was  viewed  with  much  favor*""  The 
fact  that  the  designer  was  not  a  sculptor  rendered  it  impossible^)! 
acceptance  by  Congress,  and  no  sculptor  would  mould  another 
man's  design.  This  sketch  forms  an  interesting  sequel  to  the  let- 
ters from  Enrope. — J.  P.  F. 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  19 

pearance  at  first,  and  felt  more  veneration  for  the  old 
castle  I  had  left  behind  me  at  Dover.  On  my  subsequent 
visits,  however,  I  became  more  reconciled  to  it,  and  was 
even  pleased  with  its  appearance.  It  encloses  three  sides 
of  the  square,  and  is  made  up  of  several  orders  of  archi- 
tecture, according  to  the  fancies  of  successive  reigning 
monarchs,  all  combined  with  tolerable  harmony.  It  was 
founded  by  Catherine  de  Medicis,  and  completed  by 
Henry  IV.,  Louis  XII.,  and  Louis  XIV.  A  high  iron 
railing  passes  through  the  middle  of  the  square,  and  in  its 
center  stands  the  main  gate  or  triumphal  arch,  copied 
from  the  Arch  of  Septimus  Severus  at  Rome.  The  pas- 
sage through  this  arch  lead  to  the  gardens  of  the  Tuileries 
beyond  the  palace.  It  was  with  agreeable  surprise  that 
I  entered  these  spacious  grounds,  fatigued  as  I  was  with 
the  din  and  confused  bustle  of  narrow  and  dirty  streets. 
It  appeared  as  if  wealth  and  art  had  lavished  their  stores 
to  embellish  this  beautiful  spot. 

Spacious  avenues  bordered  by  shrubbery  and  flowers 
and  lined  with  orange-trees  and  ornamented  at  intervals 
by  fine  groups  of  statuary,  artificial  groves  and  shady 
walks,  green  parterres  and  enclosures,  and  fountains  of 
refreshing  coolness  appeared,  arranged  with  the  utmost 
elegance  and  taste. 

Classic  and  antique  statues  in  marble  and  in  bronze 
embellished  the  angles  of  the  walks.  Such  as  the  stories 
of  5vneas,  the  death  of  Lucretia,  the  race  of  Atalanta  and 
Hippomenes,  together  with  fine  copies  of  the  Laocoon, 
Ariadne,  Diana,  and  the  Apollo  Belvedere.  I  anticipate 
much  pleasure  in  being  able  to  renew  my  visits  and 


2o  OVER  SEAS 

viewing  these  objects  at  leisure  during  a  stay  of  several 
months. 

August  25th. — Visited  Montmartre,  the  place  of  mar- 
tyrdom of  Saint  Denis,  defended  by  the  French  against 
the  allied  troops.  Traces  of  that  sanguinary  contest  yet 
remain.  The  hill  commands  a  fine  view  of  the  city  and 
its  environs. 

August  26th. — I  attended  a  fete  to-day  at  Notre- 
Dame,  at  which  the  King  was  expected  to  attend.  This 
church,  founded  by  Saint  Denis,  the  tutelar  saint  of 
France,  upon  the  ruins  of  a  temple  dedicated  to  Jupiter, 
Castor,  and  Pollux  in  the  reign  of  Tiberius,  bore  the  name 
of  that  saint  until  522,  when  it  was  rebuilt  by  Childebert 
I.  and  dedicated  to  the  Virgin  Mary.  It  is  a  fine  specimen 
of  Gothic  architecture,  and  contains  several  paintings  by 
celebrated  masters  of  the  French  school. 

The  sacristy  contains  some  fabled  relics  for  the  ed- 
ification of  devotees,  such  as  a  piece  of  the  veritable  cross 
and  part  of  the  crown  of  thorns  of  our  Saviour,  so  we  are 
told.  But  what  is  more  interesting  are  the  costly  regalia 
of  several  monarchs;  viz.,  the  splendid  coronation  robes 
of  Gobelin  tapestry  worn  by  Louis  XVI.  and  those  of 
Napoleon,  Louis  XVIII.,  and  Charles  X.,  together  with 
costly  vases,  crucifixes,  and  other  antiques,  some  of  which 
are  coeval  with  the  foundation  of  the  church. 

This  being,  as  I  observed,  a  holy  day  or  jour  de  fete, 
a  great  deal  of  unusual  ceremony  was  observed  in  conse- 
quence of  the  King's  attendance.  The  shops  were  all 
closed,  the  square  in  front  of  the  church  was  hung  with 
Gobelin  tapestry,  the  streets  for  near  a  mile  were  lined 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  21 

with  double  ranks  of  soldiery,  and  the  populace  thronged 
every  avenue. 

As  it  was  necessary  to  wait  an  houi  or  two  before  his 
arrival,  we  had  time  to  observe  the  ostentation  of  Catholic 
worship,  and  to  compare  it  with  our  own  more  humble 
devotion.  It  must  be  confessed  that  there  is  something 
imposing  in  these  ceremonies,  combining  princely  splendor 
with  mystified  preparations. 

The  effect  of  this  scene  was  strange  and  novel.  On 
the  one  hand  was  seen  the  archbishop,  arrayed  in  his 
costly  robes  and  insignia,  attended  by  priests  offering  up 
incense  to  the  silver  image  of  the  Virgin,  while  near  them, 
and  almost  at  the  foot  of  the  altar,  several  sentinels  were 
posted.  On  the  other  hand  were  other  priests  per- 
forming on  musical  instruments  in  accompaniment  to  the 
grand  organ,  whose  deep  tones  echoed  through  the  lofty 
Gothic  arches  and  mingled  with  the  military  music  of  a 
body  of  soldiers,  who  advanced  up  the  marble  pavement 
of  the  aisle  and  formed  in  files  on  each  side  at  the  word 
of  command. 

This,  which  to  us  would  appear  rather  an  incon- 
gruity, was  considered  quite  a  matter  of  course  with  the 
Parisians. 


22  OVER  SEAS 


III. 

Paris,  August  2jth. 

My  next  excursion  was  to  Versailles.  The  King  was 
to  have  reviewed  the  troops  on  this  day.  Every  vehicle 
was  put  in  requisition.  We  found  the  gardens  more  beau- 
tiful, if  possible,  than  those  of  the  Tuileries,  on  account  of 
their  commanding  a  more  extensive  prospect  of  the  fertile 
and  picturesque  country  that  surrounds  them.  They  are 
arranged  on  the  principles  of  landscape  gardening  and 
contain  much  variety  in  sculptural  ornament.  The 
grounds  are  diversified  with  temples,  pavilions,  and 
statues  interspersed  among  shrubberies,  parterres,  sheets 
of  water,  cascades,  and  jets  d'eaux  in  every  direction. 
The  most  advantageous  view  is  on  the  lawn  or  plateau  in 
front  of  the  palace,  where  the  grand  Fountain  of  the 
Dragon  occupies  the  foreground  with  the  water-walk  with 
all  its  numerous  cascades  and  elegant  groups,  and  the 
pyramid  and  chateau  appearing  between  the  dark  woods 
closed  the  perspective. 

The  troops,  amounting,  as  I  understood,  to  about 
5,000  or  6,000  men,  were  drawn  up  on  parade  for  inspec- 
tion, but  a  heavy  shower  prevented  the  appearance  of 
the  King,  to  the  disappointment  of  many  thousand  spec- 
tators. The  Swiss  Guards  were  the  finest  body  of  troops 
I  have  ever  seen,  and  the  troops  of  the  King's  household 
also  appeared  to  be  composed  of  the  elite  of  the  Army, 
being  mostly  young  men  of  noble  families. 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  23 

August  28th. — The  Louvre  and  the  Luxembourg. 
The  former  contains  the  works  of  the  old  masters  of  all 
the  different  schools,  and  the  latter  is  appropriated  to  the 
works  of  living  artists.  They  are  collected  and  arranged 
in  such  a  judicious  manner  that  one  may  easily  compare 
their  respective  merits  and  find  an  inexhaustible  fund  of 
instruction  and  amusement.  These  galleries  are  con- 
stantly crowded  with  visitors  and  artists,  and  amateurs 
have  always  access  to  copy  the  paintings. 

August  29th. — The  Garden  of  Plants.  As  almost  ev- 
ery institution  belonging  to  the  public  is  thrown  open 
to  inspection  for  foreigners  by  showing  their  passports,  I 
found  no  difficulty  in  visiting  the  Jardin  des  Plantes, 
where  the  rarest  specimens  of  nature,  history,  anatomy, 
botany,  etc.,  are  gratuitously  exhibited. 

No  place  perhaps  in  the  woild  affords  such  facilities 
for  the  acquisition  and  diffusion  of  knowledge  as  Paris, 
for  here  the  humblest  individual  has  access  to  the  fount- 
ains of  science. 

The  arrangement  of  plants,  etc.,  in  the  Botanical 
Department  is  excellent.  They  are  placed  in  soils  and 
situations  congenial  to  them  and  are  all  labeled. 

In  the  Department  of  Natural  History  are  all  kinds 
of  animals  from  the  arctic  to  the  torrid  zone,  ranging 
freely  in  enclosures  allotted  to  them,  etc.  The  menagerie 
is  extremely  interesting  to  the  man  of  science,  being  well 
stocked  at  a  great  expense  and  care. 

August  2,0th. — The  Royal  Observatory.  In  the  gar- 
den of  the  Luxembourg  this  observatory  is  situated  on 
that  celebrated  meridian  between  Dunkirk  and  Barcelona 


24  OVER  SEAS 

which  served  to  ascertain  the  size  of  the  earth  and  es- 
tablish the  present  standard  of  French  measures. 

Among  many  fine  instruments  was  a  telescope 
twenty-eight  feet  long  and  eighteen  inches  in  diameter. 
The  observatory  was  erected  in  1667,  and  presents  another 
instance  of  the  munificence  of  this  Government  in  the  en- 
couragement of  science.  During  the  last  year  300,000 
francs  were  expended  merely  in  external  embellishments 
of  this  building,  while  our  own  economical  Government, 
with  a  full  treasury,  is  hesitating  to  devote  a  few  thousand 
dollars  to  the  establishment  of  a  similar  institution,  which 
is  so  much  needed. 

August  30th. — Received  an  invitation  card  to  the 
Chamber  of  Deputies  from  General  Lafayette.  He  is  un- 
wearied in  his  attentions  to  our  countrymen,  and  his  house 
seems  to  be  their  home,  so  much  does  he  enter  into  our 
feelings  and  interests. 

August  31st. — Visited  the  beautiful  cemetery  of  Pere 
la  Chaise.  Its  magnificence  is  unparalleled  by  anything 
of  the  kind  and  accords  with  that  of  the  city.  Every 
species  of  sepulchral  or  funereal  ornament  which  the  in- 
genuity of  this  refined  people  could  devise  or  wealth  could 
obtain  is  here  to  be  seen.  The  most  distinguished  char- 
acters of  the  two  last  centuries  are  buried  in  this  place. 

September  1st. — Bcole  des  Ponts  et  Chauss6es.  I  have 
obtained  permission  to  visit  this  institution  at  my  leisure 
during  may  stay  in  Paris.  It  contains  models  in  relief  of 
the  principal  civil  works  in  France,  such  as  bridges,  locks, 
canals,  etc.,  and  I  find  that  I  shall  derive,  from  their  in- 
spection, a  great  deal  of  useful  information  on  the  subject 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  25 

of  civil  engineering.  I  have  also  visited  the  Conservatory 
of  Arts  and  Trades,  which  is  an  extremely  interesting 
institution,  and  assimilated  to  oui  Patent  Office.     *     *     * 


26  OVER  SEAS 


IV. 

Paris,  September  13,  1828. 
I  have  just  returned  from  a  visit  to  General  Lafayette, 
our  country's  benefactor  par  excellence,  as  he  is  called. 
It  was  my  intention  to  have  delayed  this  visit  until  my 
departure  for  the  south  of  France,  as  I  would  then  have 
passed  La  Grange  on  my  journey.  But  Lieutenant  Fes- 
senden  and  I,  while  attending  recently  the  nuptials  of  M. 
Remusat  and  Demoiselle  Lasteyrie,  were  given  a  pressing 
invitation  by  the  General  to  go  out  to  the  chateau  with 
the  bridal  party.  This  invitation  was  seconded  by  Mr. 
George  Washington  Lafayette,  who  called  expressly  to 
tell  us  that  his  wife  and  daughters,  whom  he  wished  us  to 
meet,  were  then  staying  at  the  chateau,  but  would  soon 
return  to  their  residence  at  Auvergne.  We  had  no  in- 
clination to  decline  such  a  pleasant  excursion,  and  ac- 
cordingly took  our  seats  in  the  diligence  the  next  morning 
for  Rosay,  a  small  town  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
chateau.  The  distance  from  Paris  is  thirty  or  forty  miles. 
The  road  being  good  and  the  weather  delightful,  we 
accomplished  our  little  journey  in  a  few  hours  without 
fatigue. 

At  Rosay  the  General's  carriage  was  waiting,  and  we 
were  soon  at  the  castle.  My  previous  conceptions  of  the 
place  were  not  very  just.  I  had  supposed  it  was  situated 
on  an  eminence,  like  most  castles  of  feudal  times,  but,  on 
the   contrary,   the   country  around   is   unusually   level. 


Marquis  Marie  Jeax  Paul  Lafavette. 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  27 

The  consequence  is  that  the  distant  view  of  it  is  scarcely 
remarkable,  and  nothing  is  to  be  seen  but  the  acute 
conical  roofs  of  the  towers  rising  above  the  dark  green 
foliage.  We  were  compensated,  however,  by  a  nearer 
view,  for  the  approach  to  the  main  entrance  is  by  an 
avenue  lined  on  each  side  by  dark  hemlocks,  which  fling 
their  heavy  boughs  across  the  path,  forming  a  deep, 
shady  vista,  through  which  is  seen  the  picturesque  arch 
of  the  northern  gate,  overgrown  with  ivy  and  flanked  by 
the  circular  towers. 

Above  the  gate  and  in  the  towers  were  a  few  cren- 
elated loopholes,  intended  for  defense  formerly,  which 
now  perform  the  less  belligerent  office  of  windows.  They 
were  nearly  obscured  by  the  luxuriant  growth  of  ivy, 
through  which  peered  the  figures  of  the  domestics  or 
the  younger  members  of  the  family  whom  curiosity  had 
drawn  thither  to  reconnoiter  the  new-comers.  All  this 
side  of  the  building  was  in  deep  shade,  and  the  sun,  which 
was  just  setting,  threw  his  rays  obliquely  across  the  court- 
yard within  and  relieved  out  the  archway  and  exterior 
walls  with  beautiful  effect,  and  the  rich,  mellow,  and 
golden  tinge  which  was  shed  over  all  the  conspicuous  ob- 
jects within  and  above  gave  more  somber  and  gloomy 
shade  to  the  dark  hemlocks.  I  was  much  prepossessed 
with  the  external  aspect,  and  everything  within  promised 
domestic  comfort  and  hospitality  truly  in  keeping  with 
its  venerated  proprietor.  Like  him,  there  was  something 
venerable  and  patriarchal  in  its  appearance  as  it  over- 
looked the  surrounding  hamlets  of  the  peasantry,  and, 


28  OVER  SEAS 

though  war-worn  and  antiquated  and  like  him  a  remnant 
of  other  times,  all  was  plain  and  unaffected  within. 

We  drew  up  in  the  courtyard,  and  on  alighting  were 
shown  into  the  General's  library,  where  we  received  his 
benevolent  greetings  and  his  kindest  welcome.  He  then 
introduced  us  to  all  of  the  members  of  his  family,  which 
consisted  at  that  time,  including  his  grandchildren  and 
those  who  were  collected  together  on  this  bridal  occasion, 
of  about  sixteen  of  seventeen  persons.  It  was  delightful 
to  see  the  old  gentleman  surrounded  by  his  children,  all 
joyous,  happy,  and  affectionate  as  they  are,  and  looking 
up  to  him  with  feelings  of  pride  and  exultation  in  his  well- 
earned  fame.  He  seemed  to  remind  me  of  the  venerable 
remains  of  an  old  oak,  which  once  proudly  overtopped 
the  trees  of  the  forest,  from  whose  root  the  young  scions 
spring  up,  and  whose  shattered  trunk  is  crowned  with  the 
ivy  and  the  laurel. 

Among  so  many  young  persons  as  were  there  we  were 
at  no  loss  for  amusement,  and  the  Demoiselles  Lasteyrie 
and  the  pretty  daughters  of  George  Washington  Lafay- 
ette exerted  their  charms  of  conversation  and  accomplish- 
ment to  entertain  their  guests.  Of  the  latter,  the  draw- 
ings of  Clementine  and  the  vivacity  of  Matilda  con- 
tributed a  great  deal  to  our  entertainment.  Every  mode 
of  diversion  which  they  could  devise  was  successfully 
tried  to  make  our  time  pass  agreeably,  and  we  beguiled 
ourselves  alternately  between  music,  paintings,  walking, 
and  conversation.  Among  other  things,  we  were  shown 
the  little  room  in  which  the  General  has  collected  all 
the  Indian  curiosities  and  presents  which  have  been  made 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  29 

to  him  from  time  to  time — quite  a  miniature  museum, 
which  he  takes  great  pride  in  showing. 

The  same  may  be  said  of  his  farmyard  or  grange, 
from  which  the  place  takes  its  name.  It  is  a  large  rect- 
angular enclosure  with  buildings  around  it,  in  which  he 
not  only  keeps  his  live  stock,  of  cattle,  etc.,  some  of  which 
are  rare  presents,  but  also  his  aviary,  consisting  of  beau- 
tiful wild  and  domestic  birds. 

On  the  first  evening  we  sallied  out  to  take  a  walk 
around  the  chateau  by  a  road  which  leads  for  about  two 
or  three  miles  among  the  trees  and  lawn  in  its  vicinity. 
On  the  next  morning  I  awoke  at  an  early  hour,  and  the 
novelty  of  having  slept  in  an  old  castle  being  somewhat 
unusual  to  me,  I  determined  to  explore  my  romantic  po- 
sition, and,  dressing  myself,  I  descended  the  circular 
staircase  of  the  tower  before  anyone  was  astir,  and, 
crossing  the  moat,  emerged  upon  the  open  lawn  in  front 
of  the  chateau. 

It  was  about  sunrise,  and  the  eastern  front  of  the 
castle  appeared  in  all  its  beauty.  I  took  a  turn  down  a 
walk  that  led  to  the  garden  around  the  outer  edge  of  the 
moat.  It  was  hemmed  by  drooping  willows,  the  branches 
of  which  hung  over  the  ditch  in  which  they  were  reflected 
as  in  a  mirror,  with  a  thin  outline  relieved  by  the  perfect 
reflection  of  the  blue  sky.  The  battlements  all  gave  back 
their  inverted  image.  The  morning  air  was  pure  and 
serene,  and  the  surface  of  the  water  was  perfectly  un- 
ruffled. The  spire  of  what  was  formerly  an  old  abbey 
rose  above  the  trees  on  the  one  hand,  finely  contrasting 
with  the  odd  architecture  of  the  old  castle  on  the  other. 


3o  OVER  SEAS 

I  stopped  to  contemplate  a  scene  of  so  much  tranquillity 
and  beauty,  and  regretted  that  I  had  omitted  my  pencil 
in  this  instance.  There  were  three  towers  on  this  front 
nearly  obscured  by  ivy,  from  one  of  which  I  could  dis- 
tinguish the  tones  of  Clementine's  piano,  as  she  was  prac- 
ticing before  any  of  the  family  had  risen.  While  we  re- 
mained at  La  Grange  there  was  scarcely  a  nook  in  the 
park  or  adjacent  grounds  that  was  not  explored  by  our 
charming  young  guides,  who  seemed  determined  that  no 
favorite  haunt  of  theirs  should  escape  our  admiration. 

The  General,  in  consideration  of  my  acquaintance 
with  his  friend  Mrs.  Lewis,  showed  me  many  little  me- 
mentos he  had  received  from  the  Custis  family,  among 
which  were  medallions  containing  the  names  of  Wash- 
ington's family  and  a  ring  set  with  the  braided  hair  of 
Washington  and  Franklin. 

While  he  was  in  this  country  Mrs.  Lewis  presented 
him  with  a  view  of  her  residence  at  Woodlawn,  which  she 
had  requested  me  to  sketch  for  him,  but  which,  having 
been  made  some  time  since,  I  had  nearly  forgotten.  He, 
however,  gave  me  a  proof  of  his  better  memory  by  re- 
minding me  of  the  circumstances  and  by  showing  me  the 
drawing,  which  is  hung  up  in  the  library  tower. 

His  library  and  salon  are  ornamented  with  the  busts 
and  portraits  of  our  Presidents  and  other  distinguished 
patriots,  together  with  that  of  Kosciusko,  and  everything 
in  compliment  to  us  is  done  in  American  style. 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  31 

Lafayette's  Comment  on  Death  of  Adams 
and  Jefferson. 

John  Adams  and  Thomas  Jefferson.  It  will  be  re- 
membered that  those  two  patriots  died  within  three  hours  of 
each  other  on  July  4th  of  that  year.  The  handwriting  of 
Lafayette  is  plain  enough  not  to  necessitate  the  transposition 
of  the  following  letter  into  type : 


jftrZc*'  (\rTAC*V<*ius  &<£'**€  t/css*.  IT  /fan  /VAjteJ  Au<>  <d'4k*'t* 
<Otfef>%ts  _  4fJ*>  tfktnWf  //'est  J  c/£  Zr*y  s**e-eceCc'  i/U jeffe//- ^nt**i* 
WtAy'/    sf^i/vt-     tftsurx/t'on  —  Antes  rfCfevJif  JeLest  &y//isrJ  /V    J^z^Cr* 

/omj£a  J*  a,  &«<**.,  4f*/<jC'  *  A£  fcJ't  4^<C<>  S*/^™.' 


32  OVER  SEAS 

I  have  forwarded  by  another  conveyance  an  auto- 
graph of  his,  on  which  I  will  make  no  other  comment  than 
to  repeat  his  own  words  when  he  gave  it  to  me.  He  says 
that  if  you  should  detect  him  in  a  plagiarism,  you  must, 
at  least,  give  him  credit  for  being  a  man  of  taste  in  the 
selection  of  the  lines  he  has  sent  you.    (See  opposite  page.) 

He  enjoys  good  health  at  this  time,  and  takes  great 
satisfaction  in  walking  around  his  farm  and  showing  it  to 
his  numerous  visitors.  There  are  already  eight  strangers 
here,  and  Mrs.  Mayo  and  her  party  are  expected  shortly. 

Being  sensible  of  the  inconvenience  to  which  they 
must  be  subjected  by  such  a  continual  crowd  of  guests, 
we  shall  shorten  our  visit  as  soon  as  we  can  find  an  excuse 
for  taking  leave  of  them.  We  paid  a  passing  tribute  to 
the  memory  of  the  unfortunate  Somerville  by  visiting 
his  tomb,  which  is  about  a  mile  from  here  and  in  the 
cemetery  belonging  to  the  castle.  It  is  designated  by  a 
plain  horizontal  slab  of  white  marble,  and  at  the  head  of 
the  grave  is  another  slab,  on  which  is  inscribed  in  French 
and  English  his  name,  rank,  and  his  request  to  be  interred 
at  La  Grange,  together  with  a  testimonial  of  the  General's 
regret  and  friendship,  etc.,  the  whole  enclosed  by  a  neat 
iron  railing. 

The  General  took  leave  of  us  in  a  truly  paternal  and 
affectionate  manner,  saying  that  he  regarded  us  as  his 
American  sons,  and  we  on  our  part  left  him  with  that  re- 
gret which  always  accompanies  the  thoughts  of  leaving  a 
friend  whom  we  never  expect  to  see  again  on  this  side  of 
the  grave. 


\ 

\ 


N 


N  ^ 


Nf 


H  ^ 


34  OVER  SEAS 


V. 

Paris,  October  13,  1828. 

A  few  days  since,  accompanied  by  Mr.  Fessenden,  I 
visited  the  Hermitage  (the  former  residence  of  Jean  J. 
Rousseau),  which  is  about  nine  leagues  from  Paris,  at  the 
village  of  Montmorenci.  We  occupied  one  day  in  seeing 
this  and  the  Cathedral  of  St.  Denis  as  we  passed  it  on  our 
return.  Both  these  places  attract  crowds  of  visitors,  the 
former  on  account  of  its  association  with  that  distin- 
guished man  and  the  celebrated  Alexis  Gretry,  and  the 
latter  from  its  being  the  grand  mausoleum  of  all  the 
kings  of  France  for  thirteen  centuries. 

At  the  Hermitage  no  one  resides  at  present  except 
the  housekeeper,  who  studiously  pointed  out  to  us  every 
object  worthy  of  interest.  The  garden  first  attracted 
our  attention,  which,  though  not  extensive,  is  arranged 
with  such  good  taste  as  to  appear  to  be  larger  than  it 
really  is.  It  is  situated  on  the  side  of  the  declivity  below 
the  house.  On  entering  the  gravel  walk  that  leads  from 
the  house  a  rose-tree  was  shown  which  Rousseau  had 
planted  with  his  own  hands  and  which  formed  the  subject 
of  some  of  his  poetical  effusions.  Farther  on,  the  walk 
loses  itself  in  a  small  copse  and  divides  itself  into  small 
labyrinthine  by-paths,  so  artfully  managed  as  to  lead  one 
to  suppose  that  the  distance  through  this  mimic  forest  is 
much  greater  than  it  really  is.  Above  the  trees  mingle 
their  dense  foliage  and  intertwine  their  branches,  forming 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  35 

an  arch  nearly  impervious  to  the  sun's  rays.  Beneath 
the  feet  the  greensward  and  moss  form  a  verdant  car- 
pet, which  is  occasionally  broken  by  rocks  and  ever- 
greens to  ape  the  playful  irregularity  of  Nature. 

At  the  lower  part  of  the  garden  is  the  tomb  of  Gretry, 
near  an  artificial  and  miniature  cascade  made  by  a  little 
rivulet  ingeniously  conducted  to  this  spot.  Beside  this 
tombstone  is  Gretry's  bust,  beneath  the  pedestal  of  which 
his  heart  is  buried.  Within  a  few  steps  of  this,  and  at  the 
foot  of  the  cascade,  is  shown  a  moss-covered  stone  on 
which  Rousseau  was  accustomed  to  compose,  and  where 
it  is  said  he  wrote  his  "Emile."  The  solitude  and  unin- 
terrupted tranquillity  of  such  a  delightful  retreat  we 
may  suppose  was  admirably  suited  to  the  contemplations 
of  the  philosopher  and  the  fancy  of  the  poet. 

At  the  upper  end  of  the  garden  is  a  niche  in  the  garden 
wall  in  which  Madame  d'Epinay  placed  the  bust  of  Rous- 
seau, and  underneath  it  a  marble  tablet  and  inscription 
expressive  of  her  friendship  for  him. 

On  our  return  to  the  house  his  little  parlor,  which  is 
usually  kept  closed,  was  thrown  open  to  us.  The  door 
opening  upon  the  garden  was  released  from  its  rusty  bolts 
and  bars,  and  the  damp  and  dark  interior  reminded  us  not 
a  little  of  the  moldiness  of  a  tomb.  The  shutters  being 
thrown  open,  the  light  of  the  sun,  so  seldom  admitted, 
broke  gladly  in  and  discovered  everything  as  left  at  Rous- 
seau's death.  The  tables,  bedstead,  chairs,  etc.,  were 
religiously  made  to  occupy  their  respective  posts.  The 
furniture  showed  the  inroads  that  Time  was  silently  and 
gradually  making  by  the  gnawing  tooth  of  his  coadjutor, 


36  OVER  SEAS 

the  worm.  An  unstrung  clavichord,  on  which  Gretry 
composed  some  of  his  finest  pieces,  occupied  the  middle 
of  the  floor,  placed  upon  an  old  tottering  table.  Every- 
thing connected  with  Rousseau  and  his  friend  inspired  us 
with  a  species  of  reverence,  and  as  we  stood  in  the  birth- 
place of  his  "Eloise"  we  could  not  divest  ourselves  of  the 
feeling  that  its  former  occupant  might  unexpectedly  come 
in  upon  his  visitors. 

With  the  appearance  of  the  Cathedral  of  St.  Denis 
we  were  much  gratifiod.  It  stands  on  the  site  of  an  old 
chapel  erected  by  a  Christian  lady  by  the  name  of  Ca- 
tullis,  wherein  she  deposited  the  remains  of  the  martyred 
St.  Denis.  A  part  of  the  sculpture  of  this  chapel  is  built 
into  the  present  venerable  structure,  displaying  a  striking 
contrast  between  the  rude  sculpture  of  Dagobert  and  the 
more  splendid  modern  production.  This  antique  rep- 
resents Charon  employed  in  ferrying  royal  ghosts  across 
the  Styx.  This  place  was  rifled  during  the  Revolution, 
and  regal  dust  consequently  met  indignities,  and  heroes' 
bones  became  the  playthings  of  children.  However,  to- 
ward the  end  of  Bonaparte's  reign  he  restored  it  in  a  great 
measure  to  its  ancient  magnificence  by  causing  the  sub- 
terranean chapels  to  be  freed  from  their  rubbish  and  by 
fitting  them  up  afterward  with  great  taste.  In  this  no 
doubt  the  vanity  of  the  Emperor  had  some  share,  re- 
serving, as  he  did,  the  most  conspicuous  place  for  himself 
and  the  dynasty  he  wished  to  create. 

The  subterranean  passage  passing  around  the  rear 
of  the  building  and  beneath  the  altar  is  semi-circular  and 
contains   on    each   side    vaulted    recesses,    in    which   are 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  37 

sarcophagi  of  all  the  kings  and  several  of  the  queens  of 
France  from  the  time  of  Clovis  to  that  of  Louis  XVIII., 
arranged  according  to  their  respective  dynasties.  Each 
sarcophagus  has  its  effigy  sculptured  in  white  marble,  re- 
cumbent with  the  face  upward.  In  the  center  of  this 
semi-circular  passage  is  the  tomb  reserved  by  Napoleon 
for  himself.  The  entrance  is  formed  by  a  very  ancient 
Gothic  door,  taken  from  the  old  chapel  and  enclosed  by 
two  very  massive  doors  in  bronze.  This  has  since  been 
filled  up  by  masonry  and  its  blank  appearance,  together 
with  the  unfinished  inscription,  forcibly  reminds  us  of 
the  singular  fate  of  that  great  man  and  teaches  a  humil- 
iating lesson  to  human  pride. 


OYER  SEAS 


VI. 

Ro:  1828 

The  route  from  F.  tis  •  Geneva  was  exceedingly 
uninteresting  ano  igning-  We  were  four  days  on  the 
route,  and  i  not  until  we  had  passed  the  Jura  Mount- 

ains   and    entered    Switzerland    that    our    interest    was 

kened.     But  from  that  moment  every  step  presented 

thing  new  to  excite  wonder  and  admiration.     The 
of  the  valley  of  Lake  I    m  n  from  the  Jura  Mount- 
ains on  the  approach  toward  the  city  of  Geneva  was  a 
more  beautiful  and  sublime  scene  than  had  ever  before 
met  my  eye. 

-  :oiling  for  many  hours  up  the  western  side  of 

the  mountains,  with  eleven  horses  at     ched  to  the  dili- 

attained  the  sumir.  1  turning  an  abrupt 

angle  of  the  road,  just  before  it  begins  to  descend,  this 

magnificent  scene  burst  upon  our  view. 

The  whole  Pays  de  Vaud  and  the  '.  ere  spread 

beneath  us  like  01  St  map,  and  before  us  the  Alps  of 

the  Savoian  chain  closed  in  the  distance,  and  seemed  to 
form  an  irr.  le  barrier  to  Italy,  our  land  of  promise. 

In  this  chain  Mont  Blanc  -eeminent.  risin.c 

it  does,  fourteen  or  fifteen  thousand  feet  above  the  level 

;e  sea.     The  fir?  -cene  almost  beggars 

ription.  and  Mont  Bbnc.  though  at  least  sixty  or 
-     enty  miles  ofi  ^  be  within  eight  or  ten. 


IN  EARLY  DAYS. 

The  prosp  the  plains  of  the  Pays  de  Vaud,  so 

fertile  and  -  well  cultivated,  at  this  time  of  year  was  the 
more  strikingly  beautiful. 

Castles,  towers,  hermitages,  etc..  etc..  were  scattered 
among  the  cliffs,  high  up  to  the  eyries  of  the  eagle  and 
in  places  where  one  would  suppose  the  chamois  could 
Scarcely  gain  a  footing.  Below  us  the  most  extensive 
farms  seemed  din.  ic  distance  to  mere  garc 

and  the  numeious  villages  of  the  thickly  populated 
countrv  were  almost  lost  to  the  eye  amidst  the  grandeur 
of  the  surrounding  scenery. 

To  the  plain  the  autumn  had  imparted  its  rich,  di- 

■fied,  and  mellow  hues,  an  :.  to  the  pine-covered 
mountains  a  vivid  green,  while  higher  U]  "..  it  -/.mmits, 
covered  with  the  pure  whiteness  of  perenr..  and 

brightened  by  sunbean:-  3e  reheved  in  bold  and  de- 
cided outline  against  the  clear  blue  sky-.  We  remained 
long  enough  in  Geneva  to  sec  ft  -  fortifica  : : :;  ~ .  and  found 
it  a  delightful  place — a  most  enchanting  residence.  I 
should  judge,  in  summer. 

In  fact,  its  attractions  are  such  at  that  season 
make  it  a  great  resort  of  strangers,  many  of  whorr. 
induced  to  fix  upon  this  place  as  a  residence.,  and  the  banks 
of  Lake  Lernan  are  crowded  with  the  villas  of  the  English 
nobility. 

e  concourse  of  travelers  whe  ;  ass  through  G 
on  their  way  to  Italy  conduces  so  much  to  the  inter 
of  the  inhabitants  and  to  the  country  generally  that  they 
meet  with  great  civility  and  even.-  pains  is  taken  to  make 
their  stay  agreeable. 


4o  OVER  SEAS 

The  intercourse  of  numerous  English  families  that 
have  settled  here  has  had  a  great  influence  upon  society 
and  has  led  to  the  introduction  of  many  domestic  com- 
forts, such  as  are  found  in  England  and  America;  the 
climate  also  is  the  most  salubrious  in  the  world. 

From  Geneva  we  determined  to  travel  "en  voiture" 
to  Rome,  a  mode  of  transit  generally  preferred  to  that  of 
the  diligence  or  post-chaise,  since  it  enables  a  journey  to 
be  made  leisurely  and  by  daylight,  with  comfortable  rest 
at  night. 

We  accordingly  obtained  a  commodious  carriage  for 
four  persons,  as  we  were  accompanied  by  two  gentlemen 
with  whom  we  had  become  acquainted  on  our  way  to 
Dijon.  There  was,  to  be  sure,  dissimilarity  in  our  pro- 
fession, they  being  Jesuit  priests  and  we  officers  of  the 
Army;  but  we  found  them,  nevertheless,  very  agreeable 
company. 

One  of  them  was  a  Fleming  by  the  name  of  De 
Necker,  a  naturalized  American,  belonging  to  New  Or- 
leans, and  the  other  a  Pole  by  the  name  of  Tiouch- 
scoffski;  they  were  both  highly  intelligent  men. 

We  had  chosen  the  grand  military  road  of  the  Simplon 
to  cross  the  Alps,  in  order  to  view  the  stupendous  work  of 
which  we  had  heard  so  much. 

Following  the  route  along  the  northern  shore  of  Lake 
Leman,  after  passing  through  Lousanne,  we  stopped  at 
the  Castle  of  Chillon.  It  was  built  in  the  beginning  of  the 
thirteenth  century,  and  its  dungeons  have  been  rendered 
classical  by  Byron.  It  was  here  that  Bonnivard  was  con- 
fined by  the  Duke  of  Savoy,  and  from  this  we  have  the 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  41 

poem  "The  Prisoner  of  Chillon."  Byron  has  engraved 
his  name  upon  the  pillar  to  which  the  prisoner  was 
chained,  and  the  following  lines  have  immortalized  the 
spot: 

"Chillon!  thy  prison  is  a  holy  place, 

And  thy  sad  floor  an  altar — for  'twas  trod 

Until  his  very  footsteps  have  left  a  trace, 
Worn,  as  if  thy  cold  pavements  were  a  sod, 

By  Bonnivard!     May  none  these  marks  efface, 
For  they  appeal  from  tyranny  to  God." 

The  dungeons  are  below  the  level  of  the  lake,  and 
around  the  base  of  the  pillar  the  pavement  is  fretted  and 
worn  by  the  continual  tread  of  the  unfortunate  prisoner. 
Near  this  pillar  are  two  others,  in  which  are  the  rings  to 
which  his  fellow- prisoners  were  chained. 

Our  voiture  was  among  the  last  which  would  cross 
the  Alps  this  fall,  the  season  being  so  far  advanced  as  to 
render  it  dangerous.  Had  it  not  been  for  this,  I  should 
not  have  abandoned  my  original  purpose  of  visiting  Mont 
Blanc,  which  was  but  fifteen  miles  distant  from  our  road, 
and  so  I  was  deprived  of  the  pleasure  I  had  at  first  an- 
ticipated of  climbing  the  sides  of  this,  the  monarch  of 
mountains.  By  taking  the  route  which  we  had  selected 
we  had  the  advantage,  however,  of  enjoying  the  beau- 
tiful and  picturesque  scenery  of  the  valley  of  the  Rhone. 

From  the  town  of  Brigue  on  the  side  of  the  Simplon, 
where  we  begin  to  ascend,  to  Domo  d'Ossola  on  the  other 
side,  it  appears  to  be  about  ten  leagues,  and  we  were  cer- 
tainly twelve  hours  in  ascending  and  descending,  a  cold, 
uncomfortable  ride  on  account  of  the  snow  on  the  summit. 


42  OVER  SEAS 

This  work  of  Napoleon  is  a  complete  triumph  of  art 
over  Nature,  and  is  a  wonderful  instance  of  human  skill, 
if  we  consider  the  apparently  insurmountable  obstacles 
to  be  overcome.  But  is  was  accomplished  by  the  all- 
poweiful  genius  of  that  master  spirit,  who  crossed  St. 
Bernard  under  even  more  difficult  circumstances.  Such 
a  work  of  itself  is  enough  to  immortalize  its  projector. 

For  our  temporary  discomfort  on  the  Alps  we  were 
amply  compensated  on  descending  to  the  plains  of  Pied- 
mont, for  here  we  found  a  more  genial  climate  and  much 
to  interest  us.  Six  days  after  leaving  Geneva  we  arrived 
at  Milan,  where  we  parted  company  with  our  fellow- 
travelers,  they  being  for  Florence  and  we  for  Venice. 

We  passed  around  the  south  bank  of  Lake  Maggiore 
in  approaching  Milan,  and  by  the  statue  of  San  Carlo 
Borromeo,  the  titular  saint  of  Milan.  It  stands  about 
three  hundred  feet  above  the  lake,  and,  including  the 
pedestal,  is  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet  in  height,  and 
may  be  seen  from  a  great  distance.  Standing  on  a  level 
with  the  chin,  the  knee  about  the  height  of  the  nose,  one 
may  look  through  the  eyes  of  the  statue  and  obtain  an 
extensive  view  of  the  surrounding  country.  From  this 
the  size  of  the  statue  may  be  fully  appreciated. 

The  residence  of  the  Borromeo  family  was  not  far 
away,  and  the  remains  of  San  Cailo  have  been  deposited 
in  the  Cathedral  of  Milan.  They  are  enclosed  in  a  sar- 
cophagus of  crystal  of  costly  workmanship — the  sar- 
cophagus itself  being  placed  in  a  sumptuous  mausoleum 
about  fifteen  feet  square,  built  under  the  grand  altar. 

Immense  sums  have  been  expended  upon  the  tombs, 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  43 

forty-six  thousand  ounces  of  silver  having  been  em- 
ployed in  the  bassi  rilievi  of  the  ceiling  alone.  The  treas- 
ures of  the  sacristy  of  the  Milan  Cathedral  are  extremely 
valuable  and  are  probably  unsurpassed  by  those  of  Notre- 
Dame  at  Paris. 

By  taking  a  cicerone  at  Milan  we  saw  all  that  was  re- 
markable in  a  very  short  time — the  Cathedral,  the  new 
Triumphal  Arch  which  terminates  the  Simplon  route, 
the  Gallery  of  Fine  Arts,  and  the  celebrated  fresco  of 
"The  Last  Supper,"  by  Leonardo  da  Vinci. 

From  Milan  we  proceeded  to  Venice,  and  were  six 
days  en  route,  passing  through  Verona  and  Padua.  At 
Verona  we  saw  the  great  Amphitheater,  which  is  said  to 
have  been  erected  before  the  Christian  era,  and  to  be 
capable  of  holding  50,000  persons. 

One  of  the  greatest  curiosities  of  this  city  is  the  tomb 
of  Juliet  and  the  house  of  the  Capulets.  The  former  is 
preserved  with  good  care,  in  a  place  which  was  formerly 
a  convent.  It  is  a  rude  sarcophagus  of  Verona  marble, 
rectangular  in  form.  It  was  so  much  mutilated  by  vis- 
itors who  were  desirous  of  carrying  away  some  memorial 
of  this  classic  stone  that  it  has  been  removed  from  its 
former  exposed  situation  in  the  convent  garden  to  a  place 
where  it  is  safely  exhibited  to  strangers. 

The  Government,  finding  that  such  an  object  of 
curiosity  was  likely  to  prove  a  source  of  revenue,  decreed 
that  certain  persons  should  be  allowed  to  work  this  stone 
for  articles  of  jewelry,  and  that  none  other  should  be  im- 
posed upon  purchasers.  It  may  therefore  be  said  to  be 
worth  its  weight  in  silver. 


44  OVER  SEAS 

At  Venice  we  found  more  to  engage  our  attention 
than  at  Milan.  Numerous  churches  were  to  be  seen,  in- 
laid with  costly  marbles,  and  palaces  adorned  with  the 
masterpieces  of  every  school  of  painting.  The  ancient 
Church  of  San  Marco  and  its  bronze  horses,  the  Ducal 
Palace,  the  Dungeon  of  the  Inquisition,  the  Bridge  of 
Sighs,  the  Rialto,  etc.,  formed  a  round  of  visits  which 
occupied  our  time  most  interestingly.  On  leaving  Venice 
we  passed  through  Ferrara  and  Bologna.  At  the  former 
place  we  were  shown  the  Public  Library,  in  which  are 
preserved  the  original  manuscripts  of  Tasso's  "Gerusa- 
lemme  Liberata"  and  "Orlando  Furioso,"  and  Guarini's 
"Pastor  Fido." 

From  thence  our  journey  across  the  Apennines  to 
Florence  was  rather  unpleasant,  owing  to  the  lateness  of 
the  season.  The  weather  was  fickle,  and  occasional  falls 
of  sleet,  borne  by  the  piercing  mountain  gusts  which 
rushed  through  the  passes  between  the  hills,  made  us 
more  uncomfortable  than  we  had  previously  been  on  the 
whole  route,  and  we  hailed  the  prospect  of  a  descent  to 
the  warm  region  of  the  plains  near  Florence  with  feelings 
of  grateful  relief.  As  we  approached  the  valley  of  the 
Arno  we  were  struck  with  the  beauty  and  novelty  of  the 
scene.  The  sides  of  the  mountains,  or  lofty  hills  which 
surround  the  city,  were  clad  to  their  summits  with 
verdure  (though  late  in  November)  of  the  evergreen  olive, 
which  here  luxuriates  in  all  its  pride  and  strength.  Ev- 
erywhere the  eye  rested  on  the  noble  groves  which  re- 
vested the  valley  as  with  a   carpet,  amidst   which    were 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  45 

interspersed  the  white  villas  of  the  nobles  and  the  cottages 
of  the  peasantry. 

There  are  few  places  more  enchantingly  beautiful 
than  the  external  aspect  of  this  city,  which  has  par  ex- 
cellence been  called  "la  belle  Florence." 

It  has  always  been  the  home  and  the  nursery  of  the 
liberal  arts  and  the  seat  of  science  and  literature.  Its 
palaces  and  its  public  edifices  with  their  galleries  of 
statues  and  paintings  form  a  grand  emporium  of  the 
choicest  works  of  art,  where  the  man  of  taste  and  the 
children  of  genius  may  reap  inexhaustible  pleasure,  while 
the  public  institutions  for  the  promotion  of  science  form  a 
grand  store-house.  Florence,  to  view  it  from  the  Porta 
San  Gallo,  or  from  the  mountains  in  that  direction,  has  an 
appearance  of  great  beauty,  and  indeed  the  same  may  be 
said  of  other  views.  So  numerous  are  the  villas  and 
thickly  populated  the  suburbs  for  several  miles  along  the 
Arno  that  this  population  really  constitutes  a  large  portion 
of  the  city,  and  should  so  be  considered. 

The  following  lines  from  Ariosto  here  apply : 

"A  veder  pie  di  tanta  villa  i  colte,  etc. 
Fosser  racolti  i  tuvi  polazzi  sparsi 
Non  ti  sarian  da  pareggioni  duo  Roma." 

We  arrived  at  the  city  gate  at  twilight  and  passed 
through  the  arch  on  which  is  a  statue  of  one  of  the  Medici 
family.  Our  voiture  left  us  at  the  Lerno  Bianco  on  the  Via 
Ternia,  and  as  our  stay  was  to  be  limited,  we. proceeded 
to  visit  the  most  conspicuous  and  noteworthy  objects. 

The  first  and  most  interesting  resort  for  travelers  is 


46  OVER  SEAS 

the  Museum  Florentinium  in  the  Palazzo  Vecchio,  ereeted 
in  1298,  a  description  of  whose  treasures  can  be  had  in  the 
voluminous  works  that  have  been  published  from  time  to 
time.  The  transient  spectator  must  therefore  content 
himself  with  observing  those  objects  which  are  conse- 
crated as  chefs-d'auvre  and  have  become  classic  by  the 
admiration  of  the  whole  world.  Who  that  has  heard  of 
the  Venus  de  Medici,  the  Venus  of  Titian,  the  Wrestler, 
the  Faun,  the  Whetter,  the  Niobe,  etc.,  and  does  not  de- 
sire to  see  them  before  all  else?  They  are  to  be  found  in 
the  octagonal  hall  of  the  gallery  known  as  the  Tribune, 
where  are  some  of  the  richest  treasures  of  antiquity,  and 
here  the  matchless  Queen  of  Beauty  holds  her  court. 

The  room  is  always  crowded  with  her  devotees,  who 
resort  hither  to  see  the  Venus  de  Medici.  She  has  always 
a  well-attended  levee  and  a  circle  of  ardent  admirers  at 
her  feet. 

Placed  upon  a  pedestal  raised  about  five  feet  from 
the  floor  stands  tins  unrivaled  model  of  feminine  perfec- 
tion; the  first  object  which  arrests  the  attention  on  en- 
tering the  Tribune.  The  anticipations  respecting  this 
statue,  which  enchants  the  world  and  has  become  so  re- 
nowned as  the  standard  of  female  beauty — at  once  the 
pride  and  boast  of'  Florence— are  apt  to  be  exaggerated, 
and  we  look  for  so  much  excellence  and  perfection  that 
disappointment  is  generally  experienced  on  the  first 
glance.  We  see  before  us,  instead  of  the  spotless  purity 
of  Parian  marble  and  the  beau  ideal  which  we  had  con- 
ceived of  the  general  effect,  a  dingy  marble,  which  seems 
to  have  been  steeped  in  the  Virginia  weed,  and  a  form 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  47 

which  our  fancy  cannot  consent  to  place  before  the  living 
and  lovely  images  of  flesh  and  blood  which  are  to  be  found 
among  our  own  fair  countrywomen. 

We  look  for  life,  and  we  start,  "for  soul  is  wanting 
there."  We  expect  too  much,  in  fact,  at  first,  and  it  is 
only  after  contemplating  for  some  time  this  work  of 
the  sculptor  that  we  can  appreciate  it  in  all  its  symmetry 
and  harmony  of  outline. 

It  is  when  we  are  about  to  depart  that  we  begin  to 
regret  that  the  artist's  chisel  has  not  been  able  to  "cut 
breath,"  so  that  we  must  agree  with  the  rest  of  the 
world;  alors  nous  sommes  d' accord  avec  le  teste  du  monde 
quand  il  dit  qu'elle  merite  Vepithete  de  "Reine  de  Beaute," 
et  qu'en  ne  vient  a  Florence  que  pour  la  voir,  comme  on 
n'allait  jadis  au  Temple  de  Guide  que  pour  y  admirer  la 
Venus  de  Praxitele. 

'Tis  to  Cleomenes,  son  of  Appollodorus  of  Athens, 
that  we  are  indebted  for  the  sculpture  of  this  noble 
specimen  of  Grecian  work.  It  was  found  in  Adrian's  villa 
near  Rome  and  transported  to  Florence  about  the  year 
1680,  at  the  same  time  with  the  celebrated  Remouleur 
or  Whetter. 

The  Venus  was  broken  in  thirteen  different  places; 
viz.,  across  the  neck,  the  body,  the  thighs,  above  the  legs, 
and  above  the  feet.  The  restorations,  however,  are  very 
perfect,  and  she  now  appears  in  nearly  all  her  native  sym- 
metry. Her  height  is  four  feet,  eleven  inches,  and  four 
lines.  Turning  from  this  attractive  object,  we  see  her  sur- 
rounded by  a  circle  of  very  beautiful  antiques,  which  only 
serve  to  show  her  preeminence. 


48  OVER  SEAS 

Next  in  order  of  arrangement  in  the  Tribune  is  the 
Whetter  or  Grinder,  which  is  supposed  to  represent  "a 
slave  overhearing  the  conspiracy  of  Catiline,"  since  he 
appears  in  a  listening  attitude;  but  the  most  probable 
conjecture  is  that  it  is  intended  to  represent  the  "Scythian 
whom  Apollo  required  to  flay  Marsyas." 

The  various  names  which  have  been  applied  to  this 
statue  depend  upon  the  numerous  conjectures  as  to  the 
design;  thus  he  is  called  the  Rotateur,  le  Remouleur 
(l'Arruotino). 

His  attitude  is  unique,  half  kneeling,  half  sitting,  and 
called  by  the  French  accroupi.  The  opinion  of  Winck- 
elmann  that  he  was  the  executioner  of  Marsyas  is  in  a 
great  measure  corroborated  by  several  similar  figures  on 
ancient  medallions  and  bas-reliefs.  There  is  great  force, 
energy,  and  truth  in  the  execution  of  this  work,  which  is 
considered  a  production  of  the  Grecian  chisel,  and  the 
restorations  of  Michael  Angelo  have  done  ample  justice  to 
the  subject.  I  had  seen  and  before  admired  a  copy  of 
this  work  done  in  bronze  in  the  gardens  of  the  Tuileries. 
The  Wrestlers  is  a  well-conceived  and  finely-executed 
group,  possessing  many  of  the  merits  for  which  the  Lao- 
coon  is  justly  esteemed;  the  tension  of  the  muscles,  the 
swelling  veins,  and  the  almost  superhuman  strength  dis- 
played in  the  moment  of  extraordinary  exertion  of  the  last 
struggle,  which  is  to  decide  the  victory,  are  well  and 
happily  delineated. 

The  expressions  of  the  countenances  are  faithfully 
indicative  of  the  triumphant  animation  which  the  victor 
is  supposed  to  feel  and  the  spite  and  convulsive  rage  of  the 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  49 

vanquished.     The  anatomy  is  said  to  be  very  well  at- 
tended to. 

The  Faun  is  another  antique  which  is  considered  a 
masterpiece,  and  has  been  attributed,  on  account  of  its 
excellence,  to  the  chisel  of  Praxiteles.  He  is  playing  upon 
the  cymbals,  and  his  right  foot  rests  upon  a  scabellum, 
which  is  generally  thought  to  represent  a  bird-whistle. 
His  phiz  is  so  merry  and  jocund,  and  there  breathes  around 
him  such  a  gaiety  and  merriment,  that  we  can  hardly 
repress  our  own  mirth  and  desire  to  caper  with  him. 

In  order  to  bring  into  view  and  compare  at  the 
same  time  the  chefs-d'oeuvre  of  painting  and  sculpture,  the 
paintings  of  Titian's  Venus  are  placed  directly  over  the 
Medici.  One  represents  Venus  and  Love,  and  the  other, 
which  is  thought  the  rival  of  the  Medici,  represents  a  re- 
cumbent figure  holding  a  bouquet  of  flowers,  while  two 
ugly  old  women  are  seen  in  the  background  to  give  relief 
to  her  youthful  beauty.  She  is  perfectly  nude,  and  re- 
clines on  a  couch  with  a  languid  and  voluptuous  air, 
which  heightens  her  incomparable  beauty.  This  is  per- 
haps one  of  the  finest  specimens  of  that  richness  and  per- 
fection of  coloring  for  which  Titian  has  obtained,  de- 
servedly, an  immortal  celebrity. 

One  of  Michael  Angelo's  paintings  next  demands  our 
admiration,  not  perhaps  for  its  intrinsic  merit  so  much  as 
for  being  a  production  of  that  great  genius.  It  represents 
the  Virgin  and  Child,  and  is  said  to  be  one  of  his  best 
easel  pictures. 

The  Hall  of  the  Tribune  contains  several  other  mas- 


50  OVER  SEAS 

terpieces  of  celebrated  artists,  among  which  is  Raphael's 
St.  John  the  Baptist. 

In  the  Cabinet  of  Bronzes  is  the  Mercury  of  John  of 
Bologna.  This  is  a  rare  treat  for  the  amateur,  and  the 
conception  is  full  of  the  spirit  and  legerete  which  we  would 
ascribe  to  the  messenger  of  the  gods.  It  is  the  herald 
Mercury  himself,  "now  lighted  on  a  heaven-kissing  hill," 
except  that  in  lieu  of  this  heaven-kissing  hill  we  may 
rather  be  disposed  to  give  the  artist  credit  for  his  more 
poetical  thought  of  wafting  him  up  on  the  breath  of  a 
zephyr.  Hermes  himself  could  hardly  assume  a  more 
aerial  and  graceful  posture — he  seems  to  tread  the  air  and 
fly  at  the  same  time. 

With  one  foot  only  he  deigns  unconsciously  to  alight 
on  earth,  while  his  thought  and  look  and  indication  are 
all  heavenward — so  free,  so  light,  so  agile,  and  so  buoyant 
does  he  appear.  In  his  left  hand  he  holds  the  caduceus 
and  with  the  right  hand  follows  his  glance  heavenward, 
as  if  to  impress  the  world  with  the  divinity  of  his  mission. 

The  Hall  of  Niobe.  In  this  is  depicted,  with  all  the 
sublimity,  majesty,  and  chaste  simplicity  of  the  Grecian 
school,  the  affecting  tragedy  of  the  fate  of  Niobe  and  her 
children.  The  figures  are  arranged  around  the  hall,  but 
without  that  grouping  which  is  necessary  to  their  proper 
and  natural  effect.  They  are  about  sixteen  in  number, 
and  represent  the  various  attitudes  in  which  they  expired 
under  the  relentless  cruelty  of  the  children  of  Latona. 

The  figure  of  Niobe  herself  is  decidedly  tragic,  and 
expresses  all  the  deep  pathos  of  maternal  agony  and  the 
impotence  of  despair  at  her  inability  to  save  her  devoted 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  51 

offspring.  In  her  countenance  we  read  the  most  thrilling 
anguish,  the  most  agonizing  grief,  and  the  most  forlorn 
despair;  in  every  lineament  the  very  marble  speaks  and 
extorts  our  sympathetic  feeling. 

Her  youngest  child  clings  to  her  for  refuge,  while  she 
seems  endeavoring  to  envelope  it  in  her  drapery — and  the 
whole  group  is  admirably  conceived  by  the  artist. 

It  is  said  that  they  were  all  originally  designed  for 
the  tympanum  of  a  Grecian  temple* ;  if  so,  there  could  not 
be  a  more  beautiful  design. 

Canova's  Venus  at  the  Palazzo  Pitti  I  unluckily  did 
not  see.  It  is  said  to  be  excellent,  and  by  some  is  admired 
more  than  that  of  the  Medici.  She  is  represented  as 
coming  out  of  the  bath  and  drawing  with  graceful  timidity 
around  her  the  drapery  which  she  presses  to  her  bosom. 

The  Chapel  of  the  Medicean  family  is  one  of  the  most 
interesting  places  in  Florence,  and  contains  truly  superb 
mausoleums  of  some  of  the  first  Grand  Dukes  of  Tuscany. 
It  adjoins  the  Ambrosian  Church  of  San  Lorenzo. 

Previous  to  entering  the  former  you  pass  out  of  the 
church  by  a  side  door  into  what  is  called  the  Capella 
dei  depositi,  designed  by  Michael  Angelo,  and  adorned 
with  some  of  his  unfinished  statues. 

Here  are  four  of  these — Lorenzo,  Duke  d'Urbano,  on 
the  left  hand,  the  Duke  of  Nemours  on  the  right,  and  two 
allegorical  figures,  representing  Morning  and  Evening, 
reposing  on  sepulchers. 

The  altar  is  also  the  work  of  Michael  Angelo. 


*To  Apollo  or  Diana. 


52  OVER  SEAS 

Passing  into  the  gorgeous  Chapel  of  the  Medici,  we 
see  the  magnificent  statues  of  Ferdinand  I.  and  Cosmo  II. 
on  mausoleums,  revested  with  gems  and  the  most  precious 
marbles,  such  as  the  lapis  lazuli,  the  antique  breccia,  the 
jasper,  and  African  marbles. 

In  contrast  with  these,  we  find  in  the  church  a  plain 
flag-stone,  from  whose  half-defaced  inscription  we  de- 
cipher the  simple  epitaph,  "Pater  Patrice,"  which  contains 
a  more  eloquent  eulogium  than  all  the  monuments  we 
have  yet  seen .  ' '  Who  was  the  Father  of  his  country  ?  "  we 
ask.  There  was  but  one  who  was  honored  with  this  noble 
appellation,  Cosmo  de'  Medici — "Cosmo  de'  Medici"  will 
burst  with  spontaneous  gratitude  from  the  lips  of  every 
Florentine  in  reply  to  this  question.  In  treading  upon 
this  humble  grave,  which  can  scarcely  be  distinguished 
from  the  rest  of  the  numerous  flag-stones  inscribed  around 
it — it  being  so  plain  and  unpretending — we  cannot  help 
drawing  a  parallel  between  him  and  the  Father  of  our 
country,  as  regards  their  public  services  and  their  virtues ; 
their  memory  alike  is  placed  upon  tablets  more  durable 
than  perennial  brass  or  marble  and  engraved  on  the  hearts 
of  their  countrymen. 

I  had  read  an  inscription  mentioned  in  Roscoe's 
"Life  of  Lorenzo  de  Medici"  (Vol.  III.,  page  38),  and  to- 
day experienced  great  satisfaction  and  pleasure  in  reading 
it  in  the  original,  engraved  on  a  marble  tablet  in  the 
courtyard  of  the  Library  Mediceo  Laurentino : 

"iEdos  cernis  fama  celeberrimas. 
Pulcherrimas  atque  magnificas. 
A  Cosmo  Medico  pater  patriae  Mocheloteo 
Architecto  erectas  A.  S.  plus  minus  cit.  CCCXXX,  eta" 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  53 

The  Church  of  Santa  Croce,  in  the  Piazza  Santa  Cro- 
ce,  contains  many  interesting  monuments,  both  ancient 
and  modern ;  it  was  built  530  years  ago.  The  exterior  is 
rough,  unfinished,  and  unpromising,  and  the  interior  arch- 
itecture is  none  of  the  best. 

On  the  right  hand  as  we  enter  is  the  tomb  of  that  son 
of  Genius,  Michael  Angelo ;  Aretino  said,  "The  world  has 
had  many  monarchs,  but  only  one  Michael  Angelo."  His 
talents  were  indeed  diversified,  being  a  sculptor,  an  archi- 
tect, a  poet,  and  a  painter,  all  in  one. 

I  felt  the  same  reverence  in  contemplating  his  mau- 
soleum as  I  afterward  did  in  viewing  that  of  Raphael, 
though  it  was  mingled  with  more  admiration  on  account 
of  the  beauty  of  the  sculptural  design  which  is  here  dis- 
played— the  tomb  of  Raphael  being  only  designated  by  a 
plain  marble  slab  in  the  wall  of  the  Pantheon. 

Beyond  Michael  Angelo 's  tomb  is  that  of  Alfieri  de 
Asti,  from  Canova's  chisel.  The  immortality  which  this 
celebrated  poet  and  tragic  author  has  gained  by  his  works 
richly  merits  being  commemorated  by  such  a  hand. 

Still  farther  on  is  the  tomb  of  Nicholas  Machiavelli, 
whose  notoriety  as  a  politician  and  historian  has  made  his 
name  a  proverb.  The  next  is  that  of  Lanzi;  the  next,  of 
Leonardo  Bruni;  the  next,  of  Nordini,  a  celebrated  musi- 
cian ;  next,  the  mathematician  Fantoni. 

On  the  opposite  side  of  the  church  is  a  modern  crucifix 
made  by  Donatello,  to  which  the  attention  of  strangers  is 
invited  on  account  of  its  (said)  excellence. 

Opposite  to  Michael  Angelo 's  tomb  is  that  of  the 
persecuted  Galileo. 


54  OVER  SEAS 

The  only  instance  of  strict  military  discipline  that  I 
saw  was  in  leaving  the  Palazzo  Vecchio.  In  going  out  we 
enter  the  grand  square  of  Santa  Croce,  in  which  are  sev- 
eral attractive  objects.  The  bronze  equestrian  statue  of 
Cosmo  de'  Medici  (pere  de  la  patrie),  by  John  de  PWogna, 
nearly  in  the  middle  of  the  square,  first  arrested  my  at- 
tention. The  horse  is  spirited  and  the  pose  of  the  rider 
full  of  benign  majesty.  The  Palazzo  Vecchio  was  erected 
in  1298,  on  the  site  of  the  old  residence  of  the  Uberti 
family,  which  was  destroyed  by  the  Guelphs.  On  each 
side  of  the  door  are  two  statues,  one  of  Hercules  and 
Cacus  and  the  other  Michael  Angelo's  David. 

Adjoining  the  Palazzo  Vecchio,  in  the  square  of  the 
Grand  Duke's,  is  the  I,oggia  de  Lanzi,  a  kind  of  arcade  for 
shelter  and  convenience  on  public  occasion,  in  which  are 
several  superb  statues  in  bronze  and  marble,  the  most  re- 
markable of  which  is  the  bronze  group  of  Perseus,  by  Ben- 
venuto  Cellini,  holding  in  his  hand  the  bleeding  head  of 
Medusa.  This  figure  struck  me  as  being  exceedingly  beau- 
tiful and  symmetrical  and  as  possessing  the  same  beauty 
of  form  which  I  have  before  extolled  in  John  de  Bologna's 
Hermes,  though  this  is  comparatively  tame,  representing 
Perseus  in  the  repose  and  conscious  security  of  victory. 

The  original  marble  group  of  the  Rape  of  the  Sabines 
is  here,  executed  by  John  de  Bologna,  a  copy  of  which  I 
had  seen  in  the  Tuileries  at  Paris. 

The  colossal  statue  of  Neptune  in  the  fountain  of  this 
Piazza  Granduca,  surrounded  by  Tritons  and  sea-horses, 
is  an  excellent  design. 

I  took  pleasure  in  promenading  the  Lungarno,  on  the 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  55 

street  which  runs  along  the  Arno,  protected  on  one  side  by 
a  parapet  wall  about  breast  height  and  lined  on  the  other 
side  with  the  handsomest  palaces  in  the  city. 

My  walks  were  often  extended  in  the  various  squares 
containing  many  new  objects  of  art.  From  the  Lungarno 
near  my  lodgings  there  was  a  fine  view  of  three  or  four 
bridges  which  cross  the  river.  The  Ponte  Vecchio,  485 
years  old,  has  been  called  Prefice,  owing  to  its  being  lined 
with  stalls  of  jewelers  on  each  side,  which  gives  it  on  the 
interior  the  appearance  of  the  Rialto. 

Near  the  end  of  this  bridge  is  a  very  fine  group  of 
Hercules  killing  the  Centaur,  by  John  de  Bologna. 

The  Ponte  Santissima  Trinita  is  a  most  graceful  piece 
of  architecture,  crossing  the  river  with  three  arches.  The 
current  is  very  rapid,  but,  notwithstanding  this,  reflects 
with  fidelity  at  times  the  noble  arches  of  the  bridges,  the 
beautiful  palaces,  and  the  animated  spectacle  which  is 
ever  passing  on  the  Lungarno. 

One  of  the  most  stupendous  buildings  in  Florence  is 
the  Cathedral,  which  was  founded  in  1298.  I  neither  ad- 
mired its  proportions  nor  the  style  of  its  decorations 
sufficiently  to  interest  myself  in  describing  them.  The 
only  memoranda  I  made  was :  First,  the  Meridian,  called 
by  Lelande  the  greatest  astronomical  instrument  in  the 
world  (the  gnomon  of  which  is  277J  French  feet  high)  ; 
second,  the  group  by  Michael  Angelo,  representing  Joseph 
holding  our  Saviour  in  his  arms  after  being  taken  from  the 
cross,  which  is  exquisitely  beautiful ;  and  lastly,  the  grand 
altar,  which  commemorates  an  interesting  event,  men- 


56  OVER  SEAS 

tioned  in  Roscoe's  "Life  of  Lorenzo  the  Magnificent."* 

Julian  de'  Medici  was  murdered  in  public  before  this 
altar  during  the  celebration  of  mass  in  1478  by  his  rival 
(Francesco  Pazzi)  in  the  affections  of  Camilla  Caffarelli, 
and  near  this  is  the  sacristy  in  which  Lorenzo  took  refuge. 
We  have  seen  the  massive  bronze  doors  which  were  inter- 
posed between  him  and  the  conspirators.  I  must  not 
omit  to  say  that  the  only  memorial  of  the  illustrious  poet 
Dante  which  Florence  has  of  her  exiled  and  persecuted 
son  is  a  time-worn  and  worm-eaten  picture  of  him  painted 
on  wood,  while  his  still  exiled  remains  sleep  in  the  bosom 
of  Ravenna,  which  is  proud  and  tenacious  of  having  of- 
fered him  an  asylum. 

One  of  the  bronze  doors  of  the  Baptistery  is  so  beau- 
tifully ornamented  with  bassi  rilievi  that  Michael  Angelo 
is  said  to  have  proclaimed  them  "worthy  to  be  the  gates 
of  Paradise."  These  reliefs  represent  the  Old  and  New 
Testament  history. 

The  two  porphyry  columns,  taken  formeily  from  the 
Pisan  gates,  were  presented  to  the  Florentines  by  the  in- 
habitants of  Pisa — as  trophies — for  their  valor.  Iron 
chains  are  attached  to  them  for  some  reason. 

We  left  Florence  early  in  November  for  Rome,  and  I 
could  not  but  part  with  regret  from  a  place  where  in  so 
short  a  time  I  had  seen  so  much  and  had  enjoyed  the 
richest  treat  and  the  rarest  feast  of  intellectual  gratifica- 
tion I  have  ever  known. 

Beautiful  Florence!    How  truly  called  "the  Athens 


*Vol.  I.,  p.  246. 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  57 

of  Italy  " !  '  'The  Cradle  of  the  Three  Graces  of  the  Fine 
Arts,"  where  the  taste  and  genius  of  the  world  have  been 
improved  and  fostered.  On  leaving  her  walls  I  could  not 
help  casting  a  lingering  look  at  the  receding  valley  in 
which  she  lay  embosomed.  Everything  was  replete  with 
interest.  The  classic  Arno  flowing  at  her  feet,  and  the 
white  snowy  peaks  of  the  Apennines  (in  the  golden  light 
of  the  morning)  seemed  to  crown  her  with  a  tiara  of  glory. 
The  sad  umbered  hue  of  the  olive,  the  dark  cypress,  and 
hanging  vineyards  still  were  green  and  had  not  assumed 
as  yet  "the  green  and  yellow  melancholy"  of  the  au- 
tumnal leaf  so  peculiar  to  the  American  forests.  The 
white  villas  brightened  as  the  rays  of  the  sun  rapidly  de- 
scended from  the  mountains  to  the  valley,  and  gave  an 
enchantment  to  the  whole  scene. 

Arriving  at  Siena,  we  remained  for  some  time  to  visit 
the  Duomo  and  a  fountain  celebrated  by  Dante  in  his 
"Inferno." 

In  a  chapel  of  the  Duomo  we  were  shown  a  mutilated 
group  in  white  marble  of  the  Three  Graces,  which  was 
found  under  the  church. 

No  one  knows  by  whom  it  was  made,  nor  is  it  im- 
portant to  know,  since  their  intrinsic  merit  would,  in  my 
estimation,  hardly  save  the  author  from  oblivion. 

Siena  stands  on  an  eminence  rather  rough  of  access, 
which  is  said  to  be  the  crater  of  an  extinguished  volcano, 
and  on  this  account  the  streets  are  irregular,  narrow,  and 
gloomy.     Everywhere  we  see  the  Wolf  and  the  Twins. 

The  Sienites  claim  descent  from  Rome.  Siena  boasts 
of  the  purest  dialect  of  all  Italy,  and  the  purity  of  the 


58  OVER  SEAS 

language  in  Tuscany  has  given  rise  to  the  proverb  of 
''Lingua  Toscana  in  brocca  Romana." 

In  the  Duomo,  before  mentioned,  there  is  a  mosaic 
pavement  which  was  not  completed  until  four  hundred 
years  after  it  was  commenced.  The  pulpit  of  this  church 
is  beautifully  wrought  in  basso  rilievo.  In  the  chapel  are 
some  of  Raphael's  paintings  in  his  first  style  when  he  was 
quite  young.     They  are,  on  that  account,  very  indifferent. 

On  leaving  Siena  we  pursued  our  journey  toward 
Rome,  through  a  most  sterile  and  volcanic  country. 
Radicofani  is  a  village  built  on  a  small  and  almost  inac- 
cessible eminence  on  the  left  of  the  road  near  the  frontier 
of  Tuscany  and  the  Etats  de  l'Eglise.  Near  the  place  is  the 
dogana  or  custom-house  of  the  Grand  Duke,  and  farther 
on,  at  Ponte  Centino,  is  that  of  the  Pontiff.  At  these  cus- 
tom-houses travelers  are  always  obliged  to  undergo  an  in- 
spection of  their  baggage,  provided  they  do  not  bribe  the 
leeches  that  prey  upon  their  purses.  These  examinations 
are  made  frequently  in  passing  from  one  little  province 
of  Italy  to  another,  and  the  demands  and  exactions  upon 
the  passports  render  traveling  in  this  country  a  great 
annoyance. 

From  two  to  five  francs  is  the  usual  demand,  and  they 
prefer  taking  even  the  smallest  sum  to  the  trouble  of 
opening  and  inspecting  baggage,  so  that,  notwithstand- 
ing their  affected  strictness  contraband  articles  may,  by 
sufficient  bribes,  be  passed  throughout  the  whole  kingdom 
unmolested. 

Knowing,  however,  their  usual  indolence  and  aversion 
to  doing  their  duty,  and  having  nothing  seizable  or  ob- 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  59 

jectionable  in  our  trunks,  we  readily  gave  up  our  keys 
whenever  they  were  demanded,  much  to  their  disap- 
pointment, as  they  expected  we  would  be  guilty  of  the 
common  folly  of  most  Englishmen,  so  that  our  trunks 
were  not  molested,  on  account  of  the  laziness  of  these 
officials. 

The  country  around  Radicofani  is  volcanic  and  pre- 
sents a  melancholy  picture  of  sterility.  It  seems  as 
though  the  bowels  of  earth  had  been  disgorged  for  ages 
by  a  series  of  convulsions,  and  that  the  mold  that  might 
once  have  covered  it  had  been  buried  many  fathoms 
beneath. 

The  town  of  Agua  Pendente,  so  called  from  its  over- 
hanging a  torrent,  is  built  on  the  side  of  a  mountain  in  a 
position  which  is  truly  picturesque. 

We  alighted  from  our  voiture,  whose  snail's  pace  ill 
agreed  with  our  impatience  of  delay  and  the  keenness  of 
our  appetites.  As  our  vetturino  toiled  up  the  winding 
mountain  road  we  walked  ahead  and  enjoyed  the  exhil- 
arating breath  of  the  morning  and  the  beauty  of  the 
scenery,  the  matin  song  of  the  birds,  the  shrill  whistle  of 
the  goatherd  mingling  with  that  with  which  our  vet- 
turino was  cheering  his  laggard  beasts.  The  bleating  of 
the  goats  as  they  sported  along  the  perilous  cliffs  above 
us  or  browsed  among  the  shrubs  which  grew  upon  the 
ruined  walls  overhanging  the  torrent,  all  conspired  to 
lend  animation  to  the  scene.  Agua  Pendente,  however, 
disappointed  so  soon  as  we  passed  within  its  gates — a 
sorry,  squalid  race  inhabited  a  still  more  squalid  set  of 


60  OVER  SEAS 

buildings,  intended  for  a  town  and  not  worth  the  walls 
built  for  their  protection. 

Such  is  Agua  Pendente,  the  (externally)  picturesque. 
But,  as  I  dislike  to  dwell  upon  any  but  pleasing  images, 
we  will  proceed  on  toward  the  Queen  of  Cities — to  what 
was  once  Rome. 

We  stopped  at  St.  Lorenzo  Nuovo  to  dine.  Here  we 
had  a  fine  and  extensive  view  of  Lake  Bolsena — a  beau- 
tiful sheet  of  water,  which  is  supposed  to  occupy  the 
crater  of  an  extinguished  volcano,  or  "vesuvio,"  as  the 
natives  term  it.  This  place  contained  nothing  attractive 
but  dinner  and  the  ruins  of  an  old  castle,  which  we  took 
by  way  of  dessert ;  and  in  order  to  assist  in  forgetfulness 
of  that  indifferent  meal  we  amused  ourselves  in  climbing 
its  dilapidated  and  ivy-grown  walls.  This  was  the  first 
ruin  in  which  I  had  been  and  it  gave  me  a  singular  kind  of 
delight,  such  as  I  have  in  boyhood  felt,  to  climb  with  risk 
to  its  turrets,  to  survey  the  broad  expanse  of  the  blue  lake 
beneath  my  feet,  and  to  penetrate  in  the  labyrinths  and 
quondam  stronghold  of  this  once  proud  castle,  which 
formerly  looked  down  with  a  protecting  air  upon  the 
little  village  which  it  commanded. 

From  thence  we  could  see  two  islands  of  tufo, 
which  Pliny  tells  us  were  floating  in  his  time ;  however, 
they  seemed  long  since  to  have  given  up  their  erratic 
propensities. 

Not  far  beyond  is  the  town  of  Bolsena,  which  is  sup- 
posed to  take  its  name  from  the  conception  of  the  word 
"Volsinium,"  the  capital  of  the  ancient  States  of  Etruria. 
Here  are  many  antiquities,   such  as  fragments  of  Cor- 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  61 

inthinian  columns  and  the  beautiful  capitals,  altars,  im- 
ages, and  other  remains,  which  we  only  had  about  ten 
minutes'  time  to  examine.  It  is  said  that  the  Romans 
when  they  took  this  city  carried  away  with  them  two 
thousand  statues. 

The  basaltic  columns  not  far  from  this  place  are 
usually  pointed  out  to  travelers. 

Toward  evening  we  reached  a  little  osteria  just 
without  the  walls  of  Montefiascone,  which  possessed  no 
very  inviting  exterior  except  the  sign  with  the  words 
"est,  est,"  doubled  most  illegibly  upon  it.  On  these  words 
"hangs  a  tale,"  which  is  told  for  the  edification  of  every 
traveler  and  as  a  bait  for  the  custom  of  the  inn. 

The  story  is  that  an  old  German  prelate  who  was 
traveling  through  Italy  was  accustomed  to  send  his  serv- 
ant on  ahead  as  an  avant-courier  to  ascertain  which  would 
be  the  best  resting-place,  and,  being  a  bon  vivant  and  a 
lover  of  good  wine,  he  directed  his  servant  to  inscribe  on 
the  city  gates  "est"  ("there  is")  whenever  the  wine  was 
recommendable. 

The  servant  on  arriving  at  Montefiascone  found  the 
wine  so  uncommonly  delicious  that  he  wrote  "est,  est." 
The  prelate,  it  is  said,  stayed  there  three  days  and  drank 
Muscat  till  he  died  of  the  surfeit.  They  show  his  tomb 
hard  by  the  osteria,  on  which  his  lamenting  and  faithful 
servant  has  inscribed  this  epitaph: 

"Est,  est,  est — propter  minimum  est 
Meus  dominus  mortuus  est." 

While  our  supper  was  preparing  my  companion  and 


62  OVER  SEAS 

myself  went  to  visit  the  city.  The  sun  had  just  sunk  into 
the  Mediterranean  and  left  a  parting  glory  in  the  west, 
which  illuminated  the  somber  walls  and  the  bleak  rocky 
summit  of  the  mountains.  I  looked  in  the  direction 
where  his  reflected  rays  still  lingered  in  a  thousand 
chameleon  hues  among  the  beautiful  clouds  of  an  Italian 
sky,  and  for  a  moment  was  transported  back  to  the 
Western  Continent  and  to  my  native  hills,  where  he  was 
pouring  out  his  noontide  rays  on  the  path  of  all  those  with 
whom  my  affections  were  at  that  hour. 

As  I  turned  the  abrupt  angle  of  the  wall  in  order  to 
pass  through  the  gate  of  the  town  such  reveries  were  soon 
interrupted  by  entering  the  dark,  narrow  street,  be- 
hind whose  buildings  the  light  was  effectually  excluded, 
and  my  attention  was  soon  engaged  in  considering  the 
strange  and  peculiar  costume  and  the  swarthy  and  squalid 
countenances  of  the  inhabitants  of  Montefiascone. 

As  we  passed  up  the  filthy  narrow  lane  or  main  street 
many  were  the  pictures  of  destitution,  mendicity,  and  ab- 
ject misery  that  presented  themselves  in  every  direction. 

The  whisper  of  "Ecco!  due  forestieri! "  was  heard  very 
frequently  and  brought  many  women  from  their  avoca- 
tions and  children  from  their  sports  to  gaze  at  the  forestieri 
as  they  passed.  The  former  gave  us  a  sidelong  glance  of 
curiosity  and  indifference.  At  the  same  time,  as  they 
drew  back  the  heavy  and  disheveled  masses  of  coarse 
black  hair  from  their  foreheads  they  bore  no  little  re- 
semblance to  our  female  aborigines;  while  the  uncouth 
and  unwashed  little  urchins  peered  at  us  through  the 
paneless  windows  in  unqualified  surprise  at  the  singularity 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  63 

of  English  faces  and  dress.  The  men  stood  in  groups  at 
the  corners  of  the  streets  or  assembled  before  the  doors  of 
the  gloomy  Gothic  churches  with  their  peaked  hats,  or 
cappelli,  slouched  over  their  brows,  just  concealing  the 
quick,  suspicious  glance  of  the  dark  Italian  eye,  with  arms 
folded  beneath  the  mantello,  which  was  carelessly  but 
gracefully  flung  over  the  left  shoulder,  and  which  even 
the  meanest  Italian  always  wears  with  a  grace  peculiar 
to  himself. 

The  only  buildings  I  remarked  were  the  cathedral, 
the  ruins  of  an  old  deserted  castle,  and  the  remains  of 
some  mutilated  statues  belonging  to  an  old  villa. 

In  passing  through  these  isolated  provincial  towns 
we  are  struck  with  the  evident  degeneracy  of  every  an- 
imate and  inanimate  thing  which  presents  itself,  and  their 
adhesion  to  long-established  usages,  whether  of  customs 
in  dress,  habits,  architecture,  or  religion.  The  changes 
and  innovations  of  the  world  around  them,  even  for  a 
few  miles,  seem  to  have  no  influence  whatever  with  them, 
and  on  that  account  I  have  no  doubt  we  were  equally  sin- 
gular in  appearance  to  them  as  they  were  to  us. 

The  next  day's  journey  brought  us  to  Viterbo,  and 
on  leaving  that  place  for  Ponciglione  we  saw  for  the  first 
time — I  think  it  was  on  Lake  Vico  in  descending  a 
mountain — the  cupola  of  St.  Peter's. 

Our  vetturino,  pointing  it  out  to  us,  observed  that 
we  were  yet  forty  miles  distant.  It  was  the  first  and  only 
glimpse  we  had  of  Rome  that  day,  and  so  distant  was  it 
that  it  could  scarcely  be  discerned  in  the  purple  horizon. 

*****  * 


64  OVER  SEAS 

The  last  day  of  our  pilgrimage.  We  started  early  in 
the  morning  to  pass  over  the  most  desolate  part  of  our 
journey  on  the  deserted  Campagna  di  Roma,  and  all  the 
travelers  had  been  warned  of  the  danger  of  encountering 
banditti  on  this  lonely  road.  The  three  voitures,  con- 
taining about  twelve  persons,  it  was  mutually  agreed 
should  go  in  company. 

These  apprehensions  are  not  unfounded,  since  the 
greatest  facilities  are  offered  on  the  Campagna  for  com- 
mitting the  darkest  deeds  with  impunity,  and  for  that 
reason  we  saw  several  patrols  of  the  Pope's  soldiers  on  the 
way  before  daylight. 

On  descending  a  hill  where  the  road  was  very  narrow, 
with  a  precipice  and  marsh  on  one  side  and  high  rocks 
crowned  with  dark  pines  on  the  other,  the  vetturino  gave 
us  reason  to  expect  some  adventure,  though  groundless. 

A  shrill,  piercing  whistle  was  heard  just  in  advance 
of  us.  The  driver  incontinently  checked  his  horses,  as 
if  instinctively  knowing  the  accustomed  signal  of  these 
midnight  prowlers. 

We  looked  out  of  the  carriage  to  see  if  any  accident 
had  happened,  and  demanded  in  our  surprise,  "Che 
cosa  e?"  to  which  he  only  replied  by  pointing  to  the  side 
of  the  road,  where  we  saw  in  the  uncertain  light  of  the 
gray  morning  several  bodies,  some  moving  and  others 
lying  beneath  the  dark  shadow  of  the  hedge  which  sep- 
arated us  from  the  marsh. 

We  were  at  a  loss  to  guess  what  they  were,  and 
waited  a  reasonable  time  for  the  anticipated  attack.  We 
were,  however,  soon  undeceived  by  a  figure  which  started 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  .65 

up  from  the  ground  where  he  had  been  sitting  and  by 
another  loud  whistle,  proving  himself  to  be  an  inof- 
fensive swineherd,  who  had  brought  out  his  noisy  charge 
to  regale  them  upon  the  rank,  luxuriant  grass  which  grew 
by  the  roadside. 

In  this  manner  we  were  agreeably  disappointed  in 
our  expected  adventure,  and  felt  lighter  in  heart,  as  we 
were  left  heavier  in  purse. 

On  approaching  Rome  on  the  right  of  the  Via  Cassio, 
before  it  meets  the  Flaminian  Way,  we  saw  the  remains  of 
an  old  marble  tomb,  which  our  driver  told  us  was  that  of 
Nero;  but  this  is  doubtful,  though  it  is  the  currently 
received  opinion. 

I  shall  never  forget  the  inspiring  sensation  of  ap- 
proaching Rome,  the  Ultima  Thule  of  my  wishes.  When 
but  a  child  I  had  an  ardent  desire  to  see  this  quondam 
mistress  of  the  world — this  Niobe  of  nations,  "childless 
and  crownless  in  her  voiceless  woe,"  and  now  that  I  was 
just  about  entering  her  portals  and  about  to  tread  on 
ground  that  had  so  long  been  hallowed  in  imagination, 
'and  every  foot  of  whose  soil  has  become  classic  by  its 
association  with  the  renowned  of  antiquity,  I  could  not 
help  feeling  a  glow  of  supernatural  enthusiasm;  my  soul 
was  on  the  wing,  and  I  felt  already  as  if  I  were  imbued 
with  the  spirit  of  past  ages. 

We  were  then  passing  over  ground  that  had  been  trod- 
den by  Roman  conquerors  with  their  victorious  legions. 
We  saw  the  sites  of  their  luxurious  villas  and  retreats, 
of  which  scarcely  any  trace  was  left.  We  saw  the  Tiber 
rolling  along,  "arva  inter  opima  virum"  as  it  had  done  for 


66  OVER  SEAS 

ages — meandering  among  the  scattered  ruins  of  the  de- 
serted Campagna  and  washing  the  bases  of  the  remnants 
of  imperial  Rome,  on  which  the  light  modern  architecture 
of  pontifical  Rome  now  rose  in  solemn  mockery  of  its 
pristine  splendor.  Were  I  to  expatiate  upon  all  the 
varied  feelings  caused  by  each  interesting  object  as  they 
passed  in  review,  I  should  undertake  a  task  equally  tire- 
some to  myself  as  to  the  patience  of  others. 

We  crossed  the  Tiber  at  Ponte  Molle,  where  Con- 
stantine  the  Great  overthrew  Maxentius,  and,  crossing  the 
old  Campus  Martius,  entered  the  city  by  the  ancient  Porta 
Flaminia,  now  called  the  Porta  del  Popolo,  on  the  left- 
hand  side  of  the  Hortulorum  or  Pincian  Hill. 

This  part  of  the  city  is  the  most  modern  and  beau- 
tiful, and  its  vicinity  is  built  up  with  palaces  and  splendid 
hotels  in  the  English  style,  and  may  properly  be  called 
the  English  quarter.  In  the  center  of  the  square  is  an 
Egyptian  obelisk  found  in  the  circus,  around  which  were 
placed,  during  our  stay  at  Rome,  four  Egyptian  lions  re- 
cumbent, of  pure  white  marble,  which  spout  as  many 
fountains  of  water  in  a  marble  reservoir. 

Proceeding  through  the  grand  street  (the  Corso)  to- 
ward the  custom-house,  we  were  condemned  to  undergo 
a  thorough  search  of  our  baggage. 

This  custom-house  was  once  the  Temple  of  Marcus 
Aurelius,  and  displays  the  splendid  entablature,  which 
rests  on  the  shattered  capitals  and  shafts  of  eleven  Cor- 
inthian pillars,  which  are  seen  half  built  into  a  wall  or 
facade  of  modern  structure. 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  07 

From  thence,  having  satisfied  the  inquisitorial  ra- 
pacity of  the  leeches  of  his  Holiness,  we  were  set  down 
without  further  molestation  at  the  hotel,  near  the  Piazza 
di  Spagna,  which,  for  a  temporary  residence,  we  found 
eligible  and  central. 


68  OVER  SEAS 


VII. 

Rome,  November,  1828. 

One  of  the  first  places  which  attracts  the  traveler 
when  he  arrives  in  Rome  is  that  which  in  modern  times 
is  associated  or  identified  with  its  religious  or  political 
character,  as  the  rock  on  which  Rome  is  now  built — the 
Church  of  St.  Peter — presents  as  conspicuous  an  aspect 
in  its  moral  as  in  its  natural  horizon.  This  is  the  head- 
quarters of  Catholicism  and  the  regal  throne  of  the  Pope, 
whence  issue  the  plenary  indulgences  of  heaven,  and 
thunders  of  anathema  which  have  made  the  thrones  of 
earth  tremble  to  their  base.  Go  to  St.  Peter's  if  you  wish 
to  see  all  the  magnificence  and  concentration  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church.  Kneel  before  the  shrine  which  they 
tell  you  contains  the  ashes  of  the  saint  himself,  01 ,  if  you 
wish  to  be  edified  to  the  utmost  with  Catholicism,  kiss 
the  toe  of  Leo  X.  himself. 

For  my  own  part,  I  could  not  have  the  reverence  for 
the  Pantheon  (one  of  the  abodes  of  the  gods)  now  that  its 
niches  are  filled  by  the  effigies  of  modern  date  and  adorned 
by  meretricious  ornaments  and  filigree  work. 

But  the  Temple  of  St.  Peter  is  decidedly  one  of  the 
"world's  wonderments,"  and  is  said  to  be  superior  to  the 
Temple  of  Solomon  itself.  (From  the  view  I  have  seen  of 
that  temple  I  think  this  architecture  more  beautiful  and 
chaste.)     In   advancing  toward   St.   Peter's   we  cannot 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  69 

judge  of  its  stupendousness,  having  no  buildings,  as  has 
St.  Paul's,  around  it  with  which  it  may  be  compared. 

It  stands  in  such  an  extensive  area  that  its  noble 
facade,  which  only  is  seen,  is  dwindled  into  the  apparent 
size  of  an  ordinary  church,  and  on  that  account  you  should 
enter  it  to  be  properly  impressed  with  its  vastness  and 
grandeur.*  Two  semi-circular  colonnades  on  each  wing 
enclose  a  spacious  elliptical  arcade  of  several  acres  (if  I 
judge  aright  by  the  deceptive  eye)  and  sweep  around,  in 
columns  of  four  deep  and  sixty  feet  in  height,  forming  a 
noble  amphitheater,  in  the  center  of  which  is  an  Egyp- 
tian obelisk,  flanked  by  two  beautiful  fountains. 

This  structure  has  been  much  criticised — but  that  of 
course.  I  leave  its  faults  to  those  caviling  dilettanti, 
especially  the  English,  who  think  Sir  Christopher  Wren  a 
nonpareil  and  Michael  Angelo  a  mere  pretender. 

Enter  the  portico,  and  judge  for  yourself  of  the  fine 
perspective  and  the  effect  of  the  equestrian  statues  of 
Charlemagne  and  Constantine  the  Great. 

As  I  have  not  the  talent  of  a  cicerone,  I  would  leave 
the  treasures  of  the  church  and  those  of  the  thousand 
halls  of  the  Vatican  to  those  ponderous  tomes,  which 
alone  can  do  any  justice  to  that  which  almost  beggars  de- 
scription. If  in  the  course  of  my  memoranda  I  should 
touch  upon  any  of  them,  it  will  be  only  those  which  I 
would  not  or  could  not  forget. 


♦"Enter:  its  grandeur  overwhelms  thee  not; 
And  why?   it  is  not  lessen' d; 
But  thy  mind,  expanded  by  the  genius  of  the  spot, 
Has  grown  colossal." — Byron. 


70  OVER  SEAS 

The  taste  of  the  best  artists  and  the  talent  of  several 
centuries  have  been  lavished  with  unsparing  hand  upon 
the  ornaments  and  construction  of  this  church. 

It  is  said  to  be  "decked  in  the  various  splendor  which 
the  labor  of  ages,  the  wealth  of  kingdoms,  the  spoils  of 
ancient  times,  and  the  proudest  inventions  of  modern 
times  have  combined  to  furnish."  All  this  is  true,  and 
the  arrangement  of  these  is  such  as  to  satisfy  the  most 
fastidious  taste  of  those  who  have  a  correct  conception  of 
the  magnificent  and  the  grand. 

There  is  little  of  that  trifling  detail,  that  meretricious 
display,  that  fretwork  of  labored  sculpture,  or  any  of  that 
gloomy  and  somber  imposition  of  Gothic  work  which  gen- 
erally characterizes  Catholic  churches.  This  imposes  not 
upon  the  superstitious  fears,  but  rather  elevates  the  soul 
in  admiration  by  its  nobleness,  its  vastness,  and  mag- 
nificence. What  it  wants  in  the  somber  and  melancholy 
character  which  commands  a  religious  awe  is  made  up 
by  the  impressive  grandeur  of  everything  in  this  stu- 
pendous edifice,  where  all  is  made  to  harmonize  with 
grace,  elegance,  and  refinement. 

Many  find  fault  with  this  as  unsuited  to  the  solemnity 
of  worship,  but  if  such  love  darkness  better  than  light, 
they  will  find  abundance  of  dark  nooks  in  every  quarter 
of  this  city,  where  they  may  pursue  their  devotions  be- 
fore the  numerous  shrines  which  were  erected  for  the 
especial  benefit  of  the  devotees. 

Every  part  of  St.  Peter's  is  intended  to  be  on  the 
same  proportionate  scale  of  magnificence,  and  the  great 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  71 

dome  which  forms  the  center  of  the  Latin  cross  is  within 
two  feet  of  the  diameter  of  the  colossal  Pantheon. 

Michael  Angelo,  when  he  designed  it,  is  known  to 
have  had  this  in  mind,  and  said  that  he  intended  to  erect 
a  Pantheon  in  the  clouds.  This  he  has  literally  done. 
The  costly  mosaics  which  embellish  the  naves  of  this 
church  are  copied  from  some  of  the  chefs-d'aeuvres  of 
Raphael,  and  have  been  the  labor  of  years. 


72  OVER  SEAS 


VIII. 

Rome,  December  17,  1828. 

I  have  just  been  to  the  Church  of  St.  Peter  to  witness 
the  ceremony  of  the  appointment  of  cardinals  by  the  Pope. 
Four  successive  nights,  previous  to  the  appointed  day,  the 
whole  city  was  illuminated.  The  numerous  palaces  and 
churches  were  most  conspicuous  in  the  general  blaze. 
The  former  showed  to  great  advantage  on  account  of  their 
magnificent  architecture.  Their  colonnades,  balustrades, 
and  large  windows,  lighted  with  variegated  lamps,  had 
a  most  magnificent  and  enchanting  splendor.  The 
churches  also  displayed  literally  a  glorious  appearance, 
the  colonnades,  the  fretwork,  etc.,  resembling  one  sheet 
of  fire,  and  the  steeples  and  cupolas  were  studded  with 
lamps  to  their  very  summit. 

Few,  I  think,  can  equal  the  Romans  in  such  exhibi- 
tions. They  have  a  great  deal  of  taste  in  this  respect 
from  habit,  and  so  much  national  pride  that  the  merest 
beggar  would  starve  himself  for  days  to  honor  the  Virgin 
with  candles  on  such  occasions. 

In  front  of  the  palaces  of  each  of  the  newly-elected 
cardinals  bands  of  music  were  playing  each  night,  and 
crowds  of  citizens  were  there  assembled  or  passing  to  and 
fro  to  visit  each  of  their  palaces  in  turn.  The  excitement 
of  these  scenes  is  very  great,  and  to  witness  them  we 
would  conclude  that  the  Romans  were  the  happiest  people 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  73 

on  earth.  One  of  the  cardinals,  I  understand,  expended 
#24,000. 

I  am  told  that  the  Carnival  surpasses  all  this,  and  am 
extremely  desirous  to  remain  here  until  it  takes  place,  but 
shall  be  prevented,  as  it  occurs  in  the  last  week  in  Feb- 
ruary, at  which  time  I  must  be  in  Naples. 

When  the  ceremony  was  performed  a  great  concourse 
assembled  at  St.  Peter's,  or  rather  in  one  of  the  chapels 
of  the  Vatican  adjoining.  The  persons  admitted  were 
chiefly  foreigners,  who  have  usually  more  curiosity  for 
these  things  than  have  the  citizens. 

The  cardinals,  about  thirty  in  number,  were  seated 
on  each  side  of  the  avenue  to  the  pontifical  throne,  habit- 
ed in  white  robes,  with  their  venerable  gray  heads  sur- 
mounted by  small  red  cardinals'  hats,  presenting  a  singular 
and  imposing  effect. 

After  waiting  for  some  time,  the  Pope  entered  by  a 
side  door  of  the  chapel,  ascended  his  throne,  and,  gra- 
ciously extending  his  hand  by  way  of  benediction,  seated 
himself,  and  prepared  to  receive  the  homage  which  was 
paid  to  him.  Each  of  the  cardinals,  in  the  order  of 
rank,  ascended  the  steps  of  the  throne,  knelt,  and  kissed 
the  robe  which  covered  his  hand,  bowed  to  his  confreres, 
and  retired  perfectly  self-complacent  after  this  ceremony. 

My  position  gave  me  an  excellent  opportunity  of 
perusing  the  features  of  the  Santissimo  Padre.  After  the 
preamble  was  read,  the  novices  were  introduced.  Each 
one  knelt  successively  and  kissed  the  foot  of  the  Pope, 
and  having  been  covered  for  a  few  moments  with  a  black 
mantle  in  the  kneeling  position,  a  certain  form  of  service 


74  OVER  SEAS 

was  read  over  them  by  his  Holiness,  and  they  were  then 
received  into  his  indulgent  embrace,  and  in  this  manner 
the  ceremony  was  ended. 

The  best  part  of  the  spectacle,  perhaps,  for  those  who 
are  fond  of  pageantry,  was  the  show  of  magnificent 
equipages  that  were  paraded  on  this  occasion. 

Nothing  could  well  be  superior  to  those  of  the  Pope 
and  the  cardinal  princes.  The  gilding  of  their  carriages 
and  the  trappings  of  their  beautiful  horses  resembled  the 
richness  of  massive  gold,  and  a  crowd  of  servants  and 
pursuivants  in  costly  liveries  made  altogether  a  most 
brilliant  affair.  On  Christmas  there  was  a  further  cer- 
emony in  honor  of  our  Saviour's  birth,  at  the  Chiesa  Santa 
Maria  Maggiore,  on  which  occasion  they  claim  to  show  the 
cradle  in  which  He  was  nursed  and  the  manger  in  which 
He  was  born. 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  75 


IX. 

Rome,  November  26,  1828. 

I  called  to-day  on  Torlonia,  Duke  of  Bracciano,  who 
is  my  banker,  and  delivered  my  letters  of  credit,  and  have 
just  received  an  invitation  to  their  soiree  to-morrow 
evening:  "The  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Bracciano  request 
the  honor  of  your  company  to-morrow  evening  at  then- 
palace."  This  sounds  strangely  to  my  American  ear. 
However,  I  will  go,  if  it  be  only  to  see  something  of 
Italian  society. 


76  OVER  SEAS 


X. 

Rome,  January  10,  1829. 

A  FEW  evenings  since  we  received  an  invitation  to  a 
party  at  the  Gabrielli  Palace,  where  it  was  expected  the 
celebrated  singer  David  would  be,  and  also  the  Countess 
Guiccioli,  the  mistress  of  Lord  Byron. 

The  Princess  Gabrielli  is  a  daughter  of  Lucien  Bona- 
parte. The  expectation  of  hearing  David  attracted  a 
crowd  of  the  English  nobility,  but  they  were  disap- 
pointed. The  Countess  Guiccioli  is  not  handsome.  She 
may  have  been  pretty  in  her  younger  days.  I  did  not 
seek  an  introduction,  though  my  friend  did  so,  and  was 
much  pleased  with  her  conversation  and  manners. 

Last  Sunday  evening  a  splendid  concert  was  given 
at  the  palace  of  II  Marchese  by  the  dilettanti;  the  piece 
was  "Semiramide,"  and  full  justice  was  done  to  Rossini 
by  a  choir  of  about  forty  singers  and  as  many  musicians. 
Without  any  adventitious  scenery  or  performance,  the 
effect  was  very  fine. 

We  dined  with  our  English  friend  Darwin  yesterday, 
in  company  with  about  fourteen  young  English  gentle- 
men, and  I  was  pleased  to  find  so  much  good  feeling  man- 
ifested by  them  toward  our  country.  They  were  inquis- 
itive in  their  questions  respecting  it,  and  frequently  re- 
marked how  little  the  English  knew  of  our  institutions. 
At  present  there  are  many  Americans  in  Rome,  but,  not 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  77 

being  so  numerous  as  the  English,  their  society  is  more 
sought  by  the  Italians. 

I  have  taken  pleasure  among  other  amusements  of 
visiting  the  different  kinds  of  society  at  this  place.  The 
parties  to  which  I  have  before  referred  presented  a  mixture 
of  all  national  characters  of  this  continent.  But  a  party 
I  lately  attended  at  the  Signore  Fivorini's  displayed  Ital- 
ian manners  more  conspicuously — that  is  to  say,  it  was 
a  strange  mixture  of  the  beautiful  with  the  ridiculous 
and  luxury  with  discomfort. 

The  two  daughters  have  attained  wonderful  per- 
fection in  music  and  drawing,  so  much  so  that  they  are 
unrivaled  by  any  one  in  miniature  painting  and  on  the 
piano.  The  miniatures  of  the  eldest  are  the  best  and 
rarest  specimens  of  the  kind  I  have  ever  seen,  and  the 
performances  of  the  youngest  signorina  surpass  any  music 
I  have  heard.  Yet,  unfortunately,  they  are  too  homely 
to  excite  admiration  in  any  other  respect. 

On  going  to  the  house  we  met  the  padrone,  their 
father,  who  ushered  us  up  a  narrow  and  dirty  stone 
staircase  into  a  very  ordinary  apartment,  lighted  badly 
by  a  single  candle  placed  upon  a  piano,  which  threw  its 
dull  light  upon  the  faces  of  the  guests,  who  were  ranged 
around  the  walls  of  a  badly  furnished  room  with  a  stone 
floor.  This  floor  was  of  tiles,  without  any  carpet,  and  had 
been  worn  in  a  deep  circular  furrow  by  continual  waltz- 
ing. There  was  no  cheerful  blazing  fire,  as  at  the  other 
winter  parties  we  had  attended,  and  everything  was  cold 
and  comfortless,  except  our  reception,  which  was  warm 
enough.     Instead  of  a  blazing  hearth,  however,  there  was 


78  OVER  SEAS 

a  large  kettle  of  coals  with  a  few  embers  in  it,  in  the  middle 
of  the  apartment,  and  each  of  the  ladies  held  in  their  laps 
a  small  kettle  of  coals,  called  a  scaldino  or  marito — the 
latter  term  signifying  "husband";  a  custom  which  has  a 
singular  appearance  to  an  American. 

The  young  ladies  played  and  sang,  assisted  by  sev- 
eral gentlemen  amateurs,  among  whom  was  a  young 
marquis,  whose  chief  endowment  was  in  drawing  ex- 
quisite sounds  from  the  violin.  Of  their  talents  the 
mother  of  these  young  ladies  had  good  reason  to  be 
proud,  and  took  great  satisfaction,  consequently,  in 
showing  them  off.  But  she  was  hideously  ugly,  and 
the  daughters  had  come  honestly  by  their  share  of 
the  family  failing.  They  had,  notwithstanding,  all  that 
urbanity  and  grace  of  the  Italian  women,  and  made 
their  guests  perfectly  at  home.  At  the  conclusion  of  the 
evening  they  got  up  many  plays  and  dances  peculiar  to 
their  country,  and,  among  others,  exhibited  for  our 
amusement  the  dances  of  the  peasantry  of  the  Campagna. 
I  was  persuaded  to  join  them,  but  with  a  partner  as  un- 
satisfactory to  me  as  my  sins  of  the  last  year.  The  even- 
ing, however,  passed  off  very  pleasantly.* 

On  Sunday  last  there  was  an  exhibition,  altogether 
novel  to  me,  at  the  Pontifical  College  of  the  Propaganda 
Fide — an  institution  created  under  the  auspices  of  Urban 
VIII.  for  the  reception  of  young  Asiatics  and  Africans, 
who  were  intended  to  disseminate  the  Catholic  religion  in 


*The  phraseology  of  the  above  letter  is  not  altered,  but  one  or 
two  sentences  have  been  transposed. 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  79 

those  countries.  Thirty-one  discourses  were  delivered  in 
about  as  many  different  languages ;  the  scholars,  being  se- 
lected from  the  most  intelligent  youths  of  their  respective 
nations,  generally  speaking,  did  justice  to  their  parts. 

Judging  by  the  ear,  and  a  slight  knowledge  of  several 
of  the  languages,  I  had  a  good  opportunity  of  comparing 
their  euphony  and  harmony.  So  great  was  the  attraction 
that  the  house  was  crowded  to  overflow,  but  by  good 
fortune  I  obtained  an  excellent  seat. 

The  recitation  in  German  was  admirable,  and  called 
forth  reiterated  bursts  of  applause  and  the  most  enthusi- 
astic acclamation.  I  had  never  before  had  a  conception 
of  the  richness  and  copiousness  of  this  language. 

The  English  was  recited  badly  by  an  Irishman, 
who  rehearsed  a  poem  on  "Liberty";  yet,  notwithstand- 
ing, it  came  in  second  for  its  share  of  praise. 

The  Latin  had  full  justice  done  it  by  an  eclogue  in 
imitation  of  Virgil.  There  was  perfect  music  in  the 
sound,  with  the  soft  Italian  pronunciation.  The  whole 
brought  forcibly  to  mind  those  lines  which  I  had  so  often 
conned  over,  and  which  seemed  now  to  apply  to  myself: 

"  Et  qua  tanta,  fuit  Romani  tibi  causa  vivendi?" 

My  old  traveling  friend,  Tiouchscoffski  the  Pole,  was 
sitting  beside  me  when  the  English  was  about  to  be 
rehearsed,  and  he  whispered:  "Maintenant/  ecoutez  la 
langue  Arabe."  But  what  was  his  mortification  on  hear- 
ing his  own  language  when  its  turn  came.  It  was  most 
barbarously  treated  by  a  young  Dalmatian. 

The  Sunday  preceding  this   these   scholars  had  at- 


80  OVER  SEAS 

tended  mass  at  this  place  in  the  costumes  of  their  re- 
spective nations.  Cardinal  Fesch,  the  uncle  of  Napoleon, 
was  present  at  this  exhibition. 

One  of  the  greatest  sources  of  amusement  is  visiting 
the  galleries  of  the  Vatican  and  the  studios  of  painters  and 
sculptors.  Thorwaldsen  is  considered  the  best  sculptor  of 
this  day  and  next  to  Canova  in  his  designs.  Trentanove 
is  next  in  merit,  and  Camuccini  is  the  best  Italian  painter. 

I  have  become  acquainted  with  Mr.  Cook,  an  Amer- 
ican artist,  who  possesses  uncommon  talent,  and  through 
his  means  have  been  invited  to  the  English  Academy. 

The  Vatican  offers  an  inexhaustible  fund  of  amusement 
and  interest  as  well  as  the  Gallery  of  the  Capitol,  for  in 
these  depots  of  the  arts  are  preserved  the  most  valuable 
antiques  that  have  been  found  among  the  baths,  palaces, 
villas,  and  monuments  of  the  emperors.  The  treasures  of 
temples,  monuments,  etc.,  of  Italy,  Greece,  and  Egypt 
have  been  assembled  here  to  shelter  them  from  the  in- 
vasions of  Time,  and  are  ai  ranged  on  the  most  judicious 
and  magnificent  scale. 

The  productions  of  Greece  and  Rome,  when  the  arts 
were  in  their  highest  perfection,  may  be  here  seen,  and  the 
amateur  and  antiquary  are  astonished  and  I  may  almost 
say  satiated  by  this  overwhelming  multitude  of  beautiful 
and  admirable  objects.  No  one,  I  am  confident,  could 
well  undertake  the  task  of  describing  such  numerous 
objects  as  present  themselves.  It  would  be  the  labor  of 
more  than  man's  brief  portion  of  existence.  Antiquaries 
find  themselves  puzzled  even  to  ascertain  the  origin  of 
some  of  the  most  remarkable  ruins  in  Rome,  much  less 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  81 

to  give  a  local  habitation  to  its  minor  curiosities,  and 
this  difficulty  increases  daily. 

Rome  has  been,  in  fact,  essentially  different  in  dif- 
ferent ages  and  under  different  governments;  and  there 
are  perhaps  as  many  layers  of  Rome  as  there  have  been 
centuries  since  its  foundation.  Ancient  Rome  is  sunk 
fifteen  or  twenty  feet  below  the  modern  surface,  and  it  is 
necessary  to  excavate  to  that  depth  to  find  the  foundations 
of  the  monuments  of  the  Imperial  City.* 

Last  evening  the  report  that  the  celebrated  star  of 
the  Italian  stage  (David)  was  to  perform  tempted  me  to 
the  opera,  and  I  have  occasion  to  repeat  to  you  the  re- 
marks I  made  on  the  previous  performance.  As  yet  I 
cannot  say  that  I  have  found  much  to  please  me  on  the 
Italian  boards,  except  the  perfection  of  the  ballet  of 
Milan,  and  that  is  truly  inimitable. 


♦"While  Fancy  brings  the  vanished  piles  to  view 
And  builds  imaginary  Rome  anew." 


82  OVER  SEAS 


XI. 

Rome,  January  16,  1829. 

You  will  have  rather  a  dearth  of  interesting  matter 
in  this  letter,  since  I  have  not  been  out  much  recently, 
on  account  of  the  inclemency  of  the  weathei,  to  gather 
any  material  for  your  amusement. 

Frequent  rains  occur  in  this  climate,  instead  of  the 
snows  of  winter  in  the  corresponding  latitudes  of  our 
country,  and  the  weather  is  rendered  extremely  fickle  by 
the  prevailing  winds.  There  are  two  kinds  of  winds 
which  are  very  frequent  here.  The  tramontane,  or  winds 
from  the  mountainous  and  snowy  ridge  of  the  Apennines, 
are  as  cold  and  chilly  as  our  March  winds,  and  are  sud- 
denly followed  by  warm  and  enervating  winds,  the  si- 
rocco from  Africa, 

To-day,  however,  I  have  been  in  the  Forum,  and 
though  now  mid- winter,  the  warmth  of  the  sun's  rays  was 
quite  pleasant.  The  day  before  yesterday  Mr.  Fessenden 
rode  with  a  party  to  some  gardens  beyond  the  Tiber  or 
the  Trastevere,  as  it  is  called,  and  described  his  excursion 
as  so  delightful  that  I  regretted  not  having  accepted  an 
invitation  to  join  them. 

These  gardens  belong  to  the  Doria  princes,  adjacent 
to  one  of  their  palaces.  He  spoke  in  glowing  terms  of 
the  beauty  of  its  walks,  statuary,  and  fountains;  the 
fragrance  of  the  orange  groves,   and  its  multitude  of 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  83 

flowers.     From  among  them  I  have  selected  a  few  violets, 
not  of  spring,  but  of  winter,  to  send  to  you. 

Speaking  of  Trastevere,  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  ex- 
plain the  term,  which  signifies  that  quarter  which  is  sep- 
arated from  the  main  body  of  the  city  by  the  Tiber.  The 
inhabitants  are  called  the  Trasteverini,  and  pretend  that 
they  are  lineal  descendants  from  the  ancient  Romans. 
In  this  fancied  nobility  even  the  poorest  of  them  take  so 
much  pride  that  they  consider  it  an  indelible  disgrace  to 
be  allied  to  any  other  Roman  or  foreigner. 

An  anecdote  is  related  of  a  wealthy  and  respectable 
German,  who  addressed  the  daughter  of  a  poor  barber. 
The  reply  of  the  mother  was  to  this  effect :  "  No !  were 
my  daughter  to  cherish  so  disgraceful  a  thought  as  that  of 
marrying  a  foreigner,  a  barbarian!  I  should  not  scruple  to 
plunge  a  dagger  into  her  heart." 

During  the  last  week  we  ascended  to  the  top  of  the 
cupola  of  St.  Peter's,  which  is  not  accomplished  without 
considerable  effort,  but  which  amply  repays  for  the 
trouble  by  the  extensive  view  it  affords  of  the  city,  the 
Campagna,  and  the  Mediterranean. 

The  church,  besides  being  situated  on  rising  ground 
(Mount  Janiculum),  is  upward  of  450  feet  high,  and  was 
to  be  seen  from  the  road  as  we  approached  the  city  when 
we  were  at  a  distance  of  forty  miles ;  so  from  this,  one  may 
judge  that  it  overlooks  an  immense  tract  of  country. 
The  day  was  clear,  and,  being  in  the  afternoon,  the  sun 
cast  his  rays  in  such  a  manner  as  to  throw  a  dark  shade 
on  the  ruins  on  our  right  and  gave  an  unusually  brilliant 


84  OVER  SEAS 

coloring  to  the  masses  of   clouds  which  were  piled  like 
"Ossa  on  Pelion"  above  the  snowy  mountains  on  our  left. 

Toward  the  Mediterranean  the  pure  atmosphere  of  an 
Italian  sky  contrasted  finely  with  the  deep  blue  color  of 
the  distant  sea,  which  hemmed  in  about  a  fourth  of  the 
horizon.  We  could  now  trace  the  walls  of  Rome  through- 
out their  whole  extent — now  rising  in  full  relief  on  the 
summits  of  hills  and  displaying  their  threatening  turrets 
on  some  cliff,  and  then  sinking  into  the  valleys;  now 
fording  the  waves  of  the  yellow  Tiber,  and  then  more 
tamely  stretching  across  the  level  plain. 

This  immense  wall  encompasses  a  large  portion  of 
that  quarter  of  the  city  which  was  once  ancient  Rome, 
and  contained  about  four  minions  of  people.  Nothing  is 
here  to  be  seen  in  this  now  quite  deserted  section  but 
heaps  of  decayed  monuments,  temples,  baths,  arches,  and 
aqueducts,  formerly  the  pride  and  wonder  of  the  world. 
This  desert  solitude  presents  at  present  the  melancholy 
aspect  of  a  sepulcher,  and  such  it  may  literally  be  called. 
The  dust  of  the  millions  of  human  beings  who  peopled 
this  soil  is  now  incorporated  with  it,  and  scarcely  a  stone 
remains  the  monument  of  their  existence.  Generation 
after  generation  have  successively  sprung  up,  lived  for 
awhile,  passed  away,  and  are  now  forgotten.  What  a 
comment  on  the  mutability  of  human  affairs !  What  are 
now  the  fruits  of  that  ambition  which  incited  them?  Of 
what  avail  to  the  heroic  dust  on  which  we  tread  is  that 
fame  for  which  they  struggled  ?  What  remains  now  of  all 
these?     Perhaps  not  even  a  name. 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  85 

In  tracing  the  serpentine  windings  of  the  Tiber  in  its 
course  through  the  level  Campagna  to  where  it  falls  into 
the  Mediterranean,  and  looking  across  the  Apennines,  we 
see  here  and  there  around  their  base  the  white  walls  of  the 
neighboring  small  cities,  linked  together  by  a  few  scat- 
tered villas  and  rustic  hamlets.  The  eye,  when  allowed 
full  scope  of  vision,  naturally  rests  on  the  most  distant 
objects,  and  then  returns  fatigued  from  the  exertion  to 
those  which  are  nearer  and  more  distinct. 

Rome  lies  beneath  the  spectator  the  shadow  of  what 
it  was  in  its  imperial  glory,  narrowed  and  shrunk  into  a 
small  compass,  leaving  its  useless  walls  where  its  inflated 
greatness  once  placed  them ;  resembling  the  skeleton  of  a 
giant  shriveled  within  its  armor,  now  no  longer  available. 

The  defenses  of  Rome,  or  those  perhaps  of  Troy, 
could  not  resist  a  ten-days  siege  in  modern  warfare.  A 
twenty-four- pounder  in  those  days  would  have  deprived 
us  of  Virgil's  description  of  the  ten-years  siege  —  dis- 
pensed with  the  operations  of  the  ballista  and  the  Tro- 
jan horse — and  a  well  sprung  mine  in  the  penetralia  of 
Priam's  palace  would  have  created  more  confusion  in  his 
household  than  all  the  bands  of  Pyrrhus  and  effectually 
have  prevented  the  establishment  of  his  penates  on  the 

Lavinian  shore. 

From  this  conspicuous  situation  were  to  be  seen  the 
most  magnificent  antiquities  in  the  world  and  the  most 
beautiful  edifices  of  modern  construction. 

Among  the  former  were  the  Colosseum,  the  Pantheon, 
the  Temple  of  Peace,  and  the  Tomb  of  Adrian,  with  col- 


86  OVER  SEAS 

umns,  triumphal  arches,  monuments,  obelisks,  etc.  The 
spires  of  numerous  churches,  some  of  which  were  formerly 
temples  to  the  profane  gods,  are  seen  in  every  quarter  of 
the  city. 

The  Catholic  religion,  in  expelling  the  heathen  deities 
from  their  seats,  has  erected  in  their  niches  the  altars  of 
its  saints.  The  celebrated  Pantheon  of  the  gods  is  now 
dedicated  to  the  Virgin.  Bacchanalian  vases  and  tripods 
subserve  the  purpose  of  baptismal  fonts  and  receptacles 
of  the  acqua  santa,  and  even  the  bronze  statue  of  Jupiter 
Capitolinus  is  bowed  down  to  by  every  true  Catholic. 

No  description  of  the  Church  of  St.  Peter  can  convey 
to  the  mind  an  adequate  idea  of  its  surpassing  magnifi- 
cence; it  must  be  seen,  but  not  described. 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  87 


XII. 

Rome,  January  29th. 

As  this  is  the  last  time  I  shall  write  from  this  place,  I 
will  give  you  a  brief  sketch  of  my  occupation  recently. 
We  shall  set  out  for  Naples  a  week  hence,  and  probably 
will  be  there  by  the  9th  of  next  month  and  remain  one  or 
two  weeks.  I  have  every  reason  to  be  pleased  with  my 
winter  at  Rome,  satisfied  that  there  is  no  place  in  Europe 
which  could  have  afforded  me  more  fruitful  sources  of 
instruction  and  amusement. 

To-day  we  visited  the  studio  of  Thorwaldsen  and 
Trentanove,  with  whose  works  we  were  much  delighted. 
In  the  department  of  sculpture  these  eminent  men  stand 
unrivaled  in  the  Roman  schools. 

The  Chevalier  Thorwaldsen,  a  Dane  by  birth,  is  pre- 
eminent since  the  demise  of  Canova  (a  brilliant  star  after 
the  setting  sun!)  and  is  "universally  admitted  to  be  the 
best  sculptor  now  in  Europe."  He  is  particularly  cele- 
brated for  his  bassi-rilievi,  of  which  he  has  executed  a 
great  number  which  surpass  even  those  of  Canova. 

The  most  celebrated  one  of  the  kind  is  the  Triumph 
of  Alexander,  made  for  the  King  of  Denmark.  Of  this 
splendid  performance  he  has  made  several  copies.  An- 
other superb  work  is  his  basso-rilievo  intended  to  adorn 
the  tomb  of  a  private  gentleman  of  Frankfort. 

His  statue  of  Pope  Pius  VII.  is  a  noble  and  much- 


88  OVER  SEAS 

admired  work.  His  Venus  is  the  most  beautiful  subject 
of  the  kind  I  have  seen,  and  malgre  the  opinion  of  the 
world,  I  admired  it  infinitely  more  than  the  Venus  de 
Medici.*  There  was  a  perfection  in  its  recent  finish,  and 
in  the  immaculateness  of  the  pure  white  marble  that 
gave  it  a  peculiar  charm.  A  bust  of  Byron,  reputed  to  be 
the  most  faithful  representation  of  him  extant,  ought  to 
be  recollected. 

Trentanove  I  had  the  good  fortune  to  become  well 
acquainted  with,  from  his  partiality  to  our  countrymen; 
he  being  an  enthusiast  with  regard  to  everything  Amer- 
ican. By  connoisseurs  he  is  considered  inferior  to  none 
but  Thorwaldsen;  his  copies  and  busts  are  very  beau- 
tiful, though  his  conceptions  are  not  extraordinary.  His 
bust  of  Washington  and  the  Apollo  Belvedere  are  all  that 
I  now  recall. 


In  one  corner  of  his  studio  was  .the  recumbent  nude 
statue  of  Pauline,  which  is  very  beautiful,  and  in  its 
posture  reminds  me  of  the  Hermaphrodite  (Ermafrodito). 
Next   to   Thorwaldsen — proximo  sed  longo  intervallo — is 

*Found  at  Tivoli  and  supposed  to  be  a  copy  of  the  Venus  of 
Cnidus  by  Praxiteles. 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  89 

Mr.  Gibson,  who  has  executed  many  works  of  merit,  so 
say  the  dilettanti;  but,  as  I  saw  none  of  his  productions,  I 
can  say  no  more  about  him.  Mr.  Greenough,  an  Amer- 
ican, is  said  to  be  a  good  sculptor.  Mr.  Rennie  (Anglais) 
is  also  quite  celebrated. 

While  I  am  speaking  of  sculptors  I  may  as  well  men- 
tion one  or  two  of  the  most  conspicuous  painters,  very  few 
of  whom  have  attained  the  excellence  of  the  masters  of 
the  Italian  school.  Camuccini  is  considered  the  best  Ro- 
man painter  of  the  day,  and  his  gallery  furnished  me  a  rich 
treat.  His  sculptural  pieces  are  much  esteemed  and  in 
demand  by  the  first  churches  of  Italy.  His  illustrations  of 
Roman  history  are  excellent,  and  have  furnished  splendid 
subjects  for  the  engraver,  but  his  coloring  is^  not  thought 
to  be  good. 

Severn,  the  English  artist,  I  became  acquainted  with. 
He  has  considerable  merit,  and  some  of  his  performances 
are  considered  excellent.  His  last  piece,  executed  for 
Prince  Leopold,  represents  a  group  of  Italian  peasants  at 
a  Roman  fountain,  painted  after  the  style  of  Raphael 
and  executed  in  a  masterly  manner.  Prince  Leopold,  who 
is  himself  an  artist,  is  said  to  be  highly  pleased  with  the 
performance.  He  intends  to  exhibit  it  in  the  next  Lon- 
don summer  exhibition  of  1829. 

I  ought  to  pay  a  passing  and  deserved  tribute  to  the 
talents  of  one  of  our  own  artists,  Mr.  Cook.  He  has  at- 
tained considerable  reputation  among  the  students  and 
artists  of  the  English  Academy  at  Rome.  He  gives 
grounds  to  hope  that  he  may  one  day  be  an  ornament 
to  our  country.     His  copy  of  "The  Transfiguration"  by 


9o  OVER  SEAS 

Raphael  possesses  great  merit,  especially  in  the  coloring. 
He  has  expressed  a  determination  to  visit  all  those  places 
where  are  to  be  found  the  chefs-d'oeuvre  of  the  best  ancient 
masters,  for  the  purpose  of  copying  them. 

Through  his  means  I  was  admitted  to  the  Academy, 
where  I  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  the  study  of  the 
human  figure.  This  is  an  interesting  exhibition.  The 
room  is  usually  darkened,  and  the  artists  are  arranged 
in  a  semi-circle,  each  with  his  lamp  and  drawing-desk. 
The  person,  whether  male  or  female,  is  placed  in  the 
center  of  this  group  and  made  to  assume  any  attitude 
upon  which  the  majority  will  determine.  The  light  is 
then  admitted  from  a  lamp  above  the  person,  so  as  to 
show  all  the  developments  of  the  figure — its  muscles, 
action,  attitude,  etc.,  and  its  brilliant  points.  Each  one 
has  a  different  aspect  or  point  of  view,  and  the  sculptors 
make  their  clay  models  at  the  same  time. 

It  would  be  doing  injustice  to  my  own  taste  and 
feelings,  as  well  as  to  the  extraordinary  merit  of  the  artist, 
were  I  to  omit  paying  a  just  tribute  to  the  talents  of  an 
artist  who  has  given  me  more  exquisite  delight  than  any 
other.  His  name  is  Seguira,  a  Portuguese,  whose  modesty 
prevents  his  being  sufficiently  known.  This  morning, 
January  ioth,  we  formed  a  little  party,  consisting  of  Mr. 
Cook  and  his  lady,  Mr.  Chapman,  Mr.  Fessenden,  and 
myself,  and  went  to  his  rooms  to  pay  him  a  visit. 

The  first  subject  he  showed  us  was  "The  Adoration  of 
the  Magi."  This  was  treated  in  a  masterly  style,  and 
for  breadth,  depth,  and  sublimity  stirpassed  anything  of 
the  kind  I  ever  witnessed.     The  effect  of  light   and  shade 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  91 

and  the  brilliancy  and  transparency  of  its  coloring  were 
inimitable.  I  shall  never  forget  the  impression  it  made 
on  all  of  us,  and  the  artist  Cook  was  enraptured  with 
it.  The  light  was  introduced  in  a  novel  and  supernatu- 
ral manner.  The  blaze  of  the  comet  (the  Star  of  Beth- 
lehem) was  seen  in  the  background,  and  lit  up  the  coun- 
tenance of  the  Virgin  and  Child  with  an  unearthly  re- 
fulgence, while  it  shone  with  rich  luster  upon  the  Ori- 
ental costumes,  the  caparisoned  steeds  and  camels,  and 
the  costly  gifts  of  the  Magi.  Each  group  formed  a  study 
of  itself,  and  nothing  was  wanting  in  general  effect  by  the 
minuteness  of  detail. 

A  second  finished  picture  represented  the  Crucifixion, 
on  whose  merits  too  much  praise  cannot  be  lavished. 
While  the  other  possesses  the  sublimity  of  light,  this  de- 
picted the  awful  sublimity  of  the  darkness  of  that  great 
event.  He  has  felt  all  its  truth  and  described  it  inimit- 
ably well. 

His  third  picture,  which  represents  the  Resurrection, 
rises  still  higher  in  the  scale  of  the  sublime,  and  the  fourth, 
which  represents  the  Day  of  Judgment,  is  a  still  loftier 
flight  of  his  genius.  In  this  he  shows  the  heavens  and  the 
earth  passing  away  before  the  Sun  of  Righteousness,  and 
the  Son  of  Man  coming  from  the  right  hand  of  the  Father 
to  judge  the  quick  and  the  dead.  Never  have  I  seen  a 
more  brilliant  conception,  nor  can  I  imagine  a  bolder  or 
loftier  flight.  To  convey  an  adequate  idea  of  the  whole 
human  race  standing  expectant  of  the  justice  of  the 
eternal  behest  conveyed  through  the  mediation  of  the 
Saviour;  the  heavens  opening  and  disclosing  the  pen- 


92  OVER  SEAS 

etralia  of  the  universe,  and  the  throne  of  the  Deity,  is  a 
task  seemingly  too  great  for  the  powers  of  man.  But  he 
has  gone  beyond  expectation.  There  seems  to  be  a  deep 
dread  and  awful  pause  in  all  Nature  and  a  consciousness 
of  the  presence  of  the  Divinity  in  it.  The  breathless  sus- 
pense and  calm  that  precedes  the  earthquake,  as  if  that 
time  in  Revelation  had  arrived  where  "there  was  silence 
in  heaven."  The  hosts  of  heaven  and  earth  are  arrayed 
the  one  above  the  other,  and  a  benign  light  seems  to  be 
shed  over  everything  by  the  glory  which  emanates  from 
the  inmost  and  profound  depths  of  the  Eternal  Throne. 

But  I  shall  be  considered  as  an  enthusiast  or  a  wild 
admirer  of  Seguira  were  I  to  dilate  further  upon  the 
pleasing  reminiscence,  and  therefore  I  will  proceed  with 
our  party  to  the  rooms  of  Severn,  whom  I  have  be- 
fore mentioned,  and  those  of  Turner,  whom  I  forgot  to 
mention  as  the  Claude  Lorraine  of  the  English.  The 
latter  has  certainly  some  merit  from  his  affectation  of 
Claude's  style  of  Italian  scenery,  but  certainly  has  no 
merit  from  his  own  affectation  of  fiery  coloring  with 
which  he  has  destroyed  the  first  merit.  Turner's  pieces 
consequently  look  well  when  engraved,  for  then  his  un- 
natural coloring  is  suppressed. 

Leaving  his  rooms,  we  proceeded  homeward  by 
the  Monte  Cavallo,  anciently  the  Quirinal  Hill,  on  which 
is  the  palace  of  the  Pope.  The  hill  receives  its  name  from 
two  statues,  both  of  which  represent  a  young  man  hold- 
ing a  horse  (rampant).  They  are  said  to  have  been 
rival  works  of  Phidias  and  Praxiteles,  which  is  inferred 
from  the  inscriptions  on  their  pedestals.     The  house  of 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  93 

the  Scipios  was  upon   this   hill,  and  the  baths  of  Con- 
stantine  and  Diocletian. 

The  Capitoline  Hill — this  is  replete  with  interest,  and 
may  be  considered  the  early  nucleus  of  ancient  Rome, 
together  with  its  near  neighbor,  the  Palatine,   between 
which  the  Ratto  dei  Sabini  took  place.     It  is  said  to  have 
derived  its  name  from  the  discovery  of  a  human  head, 
said  to  be  that  of  Olius  (whence  Caput  Olius),  while  dig- 
ging the  foundation  of  the  Temple  of  Jupiter  Capitolinus. 
On  the  right  hand  as  you  ascend  the  steps  of  the  Cam- 
pidolio  is  Monte  Caprino,  on  which  the  Temple  of  Jupiter 
Feretrius  was  built  by  Romulus,  where  the  opima  spolia 
were  deposited,  and  also  on  the  same  side  is  the  Tarpeian 
Rock ;  on  the  left  hand  is  the  Church  of  Ara  Cceli,  on  the 
site  of  the  Temple  of  Capitoline  Juno,  and  in  front  is  the 
present  Senate  house. 

This  interesting  place  was  one  of  my  favorite  resorts, 
and  I  generally  crossed  it  on  my  way  to  the  Forum  and 
Colosseum.  On  asoending  the  Scala  Cordonata  the  fig- 
ures on  the  balustrades,  said  to  be  those  of  Castor  and 
Pollux,  are  seen  on  each  side  of  the  Scala,  and  in  the 
center  of  the  quadrangle  called  the  Intermontium  the 
beautiful  bronze  equestrian  statue  of  Marcus  Aurelius 
arrests  and  fixes  our  attention.  The  figure  of  Aurelius, 
bien  pose,  sits  gracefully  on  his  horse  with  a  roll  or  baton 
in  his  hand,  and,  as  was  the  custom,  without  spurs.  The 
whole  is  so  well  managed  that  it  seems  as  if  he  were 
urging  his  horse  from  off  the  pedestal,  and  Michael  An- 
gelo,  when  he  first  saw  it,  was  so  struck  with  this  that  he 
enthusiastically  exclaimed,  "Go  on!"  ("Cammina!") 


94  OVER  SEAS 

One  of  my  earliest  associations  with  the  Capitoline 
Hill  was  the  Tarpeian  Rock,  and  it  was  among  the  first 
places  sought  out,  as  we  would  seek  an  old  acquaintance 
in  a  strange  city,  preparatory  to  being  initiated  into 
agremens.  Relying  on  our  guide,  Madame  Starke,  whom 
we  did  not  always  find  infallible,  we  went  to  a  certain 
number  (29,  I  believe),  on  Monte  Caprino.  Over  the 
door  of  a  mean,  ill-looking  house  we  saw  the  words  "Rocca 
Tarpeia,"  and  the  passage  led  by  a  flight  of  dirty  stairs  to 
what,  for  a  few  baiocchi,  they,  the  wretched  inhabitants, 
will  give  their  affidavit  is  the  legitimate  Tarpeian  Rock, 
although  the  most  learned  antiquarians  of  the  day  are 
very  doubtful  of  its  location.  As  you  are  housed  by  a  few 
miserable  walls  and  see  nothing  of  the  rock  or  its  form, 
you  have  only  the  satisfaction  of  being  told  for  your 
money  and  your  pains  that  you  are  standing  on  the 
identical  rock.  But,  as  I  was  not  satisfied  with  this  in- 
formation, I  determined  to  visit  another  spot  behind  the 
Palazzo  de'  Conservatori,  which  had  been  pointed  out 
to  me  by  my  friend,  Mr.  Cook. 

Accordingly,  making  a  short  detour,  I  found  myself 
very  soon  at  the  extremity  of  the  courtyard  of  this  palace, 
and  looking  down  over  the  parapet  wall,  I  saw  that  I  was 
standing  upon  the  summit  of  a  high  rock  or  precipice,  of 
which  this  wall  made  a  kind  of  coping.  I  was  convinced 
immediately,  in  my  own  mind,  that  this  was  the  identical 
Tarpeian  Rock,  and  wished  no  antiquarian  research  to 
confirm  my  conviction.  I  then  descended,  by  a  kind  of 
lane,  at  its  base,  in  order  to  have  a  better  view  of  it.  It 
was  known  to  be  on  the  western  side  of  the  Capitoline 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  95 

Hill  and  near  to  the  Tiber,  and  the  Gauls  doubtless  made 
their  attack  in  this  quarter.  Besides,  this  is  the  most 
precipitous  part,  and  one  from  which  criminals  might 
have  been  thrown  with  certain  destruction.  The  present 
height  is  between  fifty  and  sixty  feet  by  admeasurement, 
although  the  ruins  and  fallen  tufo  at  its  base  are  heaped 
up  for  perhaps  twenty  feet.  The  high  walls  of  the  cit- 
adel, together  with  the  original  height  of  the  rock  be- 
fore this  rubbish  was  accumulated  by  earthquakes  and 
decay,  must  have  been  an  appalling  precipice. 

While  I  was  engaged  in  drawing  this  in  my  sketch- 
book I  heard  some  voices  on  the  parapet  above  me, 
and  looking  up,  I  saw  my  friend  Cook,  the  artist,  and 
his  wife,  who  had  pointed  out  this  place  to  me,  and 
I  saw  by  his  smiles  that  he  was  much  gratified  by  my 
coinciding  with  him  in  opinion.  He  called  out  to  me  that 
he  was  pleased  to  see  that  I  not  only  agreed  with  him 
but  that  I  was  following  his  example ;  he  having  previ- 
ously sketched  it  from  this  same  position  himself. 

I  had  leisure  to  visit  this  spot  several  times,  and  in- 
cluded it  among  my  parting  visits  the  evening  before  I 
left  Rome,  whose  antiquities  I  could  not  leave  without  a 
sensation  of  regret  at  the  prospect  of  never  again  revis- 
iting them.  The  treachery  of  Tarpeia  and  the  unnatural 
death  of  Manlius  recurred  strongly  to  memory.  I  was 
then  on  the  spot  where  they  had  fallen  and  had  trod  upon 
the  site  of  his  house,  which  had  been  razed  to  the  ground 
after  his  execution,  and  my  fancy  repeopled  this  spot  once 
more  with  the  hordes  of  the  Gauls,  from  whose  barbarity 
the  capital  was  saved  by  the  sacred^geese. 


9  6  OVER  SEAS 

The  Intermontium  is  inclosed  on  three  sides  by  the 
palaces  of  the  conservators  and  the  senators  and  the  Cap- 
itoline  Museum;  the  Senators'  Palace  stands  on  an  ancient 
foundation  of  peperino  stone,  supposed  to  be  the  tab- 
ularium  built  by  Scylla.  But  where,  we  ask,  is  the  once 
proud  Roman  Senate?  Where  are  the  spirits  which  once 
inspired  its  councils  and  fired  the  breasts  of  ancient 
Romans?  Shades  of  Cicero,  Brutus,  and  Cato — where 
have  they  fled?  They  have  gone,  and  with  them  the 
pride  and  glory  of  Rome.  O  Rome,  how  art  thou  fallen ! 
The  Roman  Senate  as  it  now  exists  scarce  deserves  that 
once  honored  name. 

As  we  descend  to  the  Forum  on  the  right  of  the  Cap- 
itol by  the  centra  gradus  we  are  assailed  by  the  cries  and 
importunities  of  the  miserable  wretches  who  are  confined 
within  the  prisons  on  this  side.  Descending  the  steps 
leading  by  the  Arch  of  Septimius  Seveius,  we  enter  the 
Roman  Forum  at  the  extremity  of  the  Via  Sacra.  But 
we  will  stop  en  passant  to  look  into  the  little  chapel  on 
our  left,  at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  where  at  stated  hours  are 
seen  crowds  of  humble  devotees  crossing  themselves  and 
counting  their  beads.  We  are  naturally  led  to  ask  why 
this  humble  shrine,*  which  is  almost  beneath  the  ground, 
is  such  a  resort?  This  is  the  celebrated  Mamertine 
Prison,  in  which  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  according  to  the 
inscription,  were  imprisoned.  The  pillar  he  was  chained 
to  in  the  "innermost "  dungeon  by  order  of  Nero  is  shown, 
as  well  as  the  "acqua  vera"  with  which  he  baptized  the 

*San  Pietro  in  Carcere. 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  97 

forty  converts.  This  prison  was  founded  by  Ancus 
Martins.  In  this  were  also  confined  the  conspirators  of 
Catiline,  Jugurtha,  Perseus,  and  Sejanus.  It  was  for- 
merly entered  on  the  upper  side  by  the  Scala  Gemonia, 
not  unlike  the  Ponte  de'  Sospiri  at  Venice. 

The  Roman  Forum.*  This  I  would  mention  here, 
but  the  wilderness  of  interesting  ruins  which  it  contains 
would  occupy  some  space  were  they  described  as  they 
should  be.  The  Arch  of  Septimius  Severus  is  the  first 
that  we  met  before  entering  the  line  of  the  old  Via  Sacra. 
The  French  have  disinterred  the  base,  which  was  buried 
perhaps  ten  or  fifteen  feet  below  the  present  surface. 
Considering  the  time  which  has  elapsed  since  these  ed- 
ifices were  built,  they  are  in  better  condition  than  could  be 
expected,  and  they  furnish  a  surprising  example  of  the 
perfection  and  durability  of  the  work  of  the  Roman  em- 
perors in  the  earliest  stage  of  the  empire.  Erected  as 
they  were,  many  of  them  as  far  back  as  the  Christian  era, 
we  could  scarcely  expect  to  find  more  than  their  sites ; 
but  here  we  see  many  of  these  monuments,  the  pride 
and  magnificence  of  imperial  Rome,  maintaining  their 
original  loftiness,  almost  triumphant  over  decay.  The 
yet  standing  columns  of  the  porticos  of  temples  remain 
as  landmarks  to  point  out  to  the  antiquary  the  true 
sites  of  most  of  the  principal  buildings  which  once 
adorned  this  abode  of  the  arts. 

This   is   the   Roman    Forum,    where   Romulus   and 
Remus   were  miraculously  preserved;  where  they  con- 

*"  Magnum  Forum"  by  Ovid. 


98  OVER  SEAS 

ceived  the  plan  of  building  a  city,  which  they  knew  not 
was  to  become  the  law-giver  of  the  world.  Here  was  the 
scene  of  the  Rape  of.  the  Sabines,  and  here  the  temple 
said  to  have  been  erected  to  Jupiter  by  Romulus  on  the 
identical  spot.  On  one  side  we  see  the  remains  of  the 
Temple  of  Romulus,  built  upon  the  spot  where  stood  the 
Ficus  Ruminalis,  under  which  the  twins  were  suckled ; 
and  on  the  other  hand  we  see  the  Temple  of  Remus, 
buried  beneath  the  present  level  so  deep  that  its  dome 
serves  now  as  the  entrance  or  vestibule  of  a  modern 
church.  Here  was  the  bronze  wolf,  said  by  Cicero  to 
have  been  struck  by  lightning,  and  shown  with  its  fract- 
ure in  the  Conservators'  Palace.  Here  we  may  stand 
upon  the  ground  upon  which  heroes  and  statesmen  and 
poets  and  philosophers  have  once  trod ;  upon  the  site  of 
the  rostrum  which  once  witnessed  the  eloquence  of  Tully ; 
upon  the  spot  where  stood  the  tribunal  of  Appius,  before 
which  the  faecal  knife  of  Virginius,  reeking  with  the  chaste 
blood  of  his  daughter,  proclaimed  the  emancipation  of 
the  innocent  from  the  biutality  of  the  tyrant.  But  we 
look  in  vain  for  the  abyss  that  engulfed  the  devoted  and 
patriotic  Curtius  among  the  numerous  excavations  which 
have  been  made  here  to  discover  the  ancient  level  and 
bases  of  temples.  The  whole  Forum,  as  well  as  the  cel- 
ebrated Via  Sacra,  is  now  twenty  feet  below  the  present 
degenerate  sod,  which  n^w  g^es  by  the  ignominious  ap- 
pellation of  the  Campo  Vaccino,  or  Field  of  Cows, 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  99 

XIII. 

January,  1829. 

Almost  everything  worth  notice  has  been  seen  and 
my  curiosity  at  last  sated,  so  that  I  shall  resume  my 
journey  with  satisfaction. 

More  than  two  months  have  served  to  make  me  fa- 
miliar with  those  antiquities  which  draw  hither  such 
crowds  of  travelers  from  all  quarters  of  the  globe,  and 
have  made  me  tolerably  au  fait  to  the  character  of  Italian 
society.  The  latter  has  an  attraction  perhaps  to  the 
majority,  but  Rome's  faded  glories  have  more  charms 
for  me. 

Thus  far  my  journey  has  been  unintentionally  timed 
by  the  rules  of  fashionable  traveling,  but  now  my  in- 
clination leads  me  to  differ  from  them,  for  while  everyone 
is  hastening  to  Rome  to  see  the  approaching  Carnival,  we 
are  so  Gothic  as  to  go  in  the  contrary  direction.  We 
console  ourselves,  however,  with  being  able  to  witness 
that  at  Naples.* 

The  only  incidents  that  have  occurred  since  my  last 
letter  are  the  death  of  one  of  the  newly-made  cardinals 
and  the  execution  of  a  criminal  by  the  guillotine. f 

*The  death  of  the  Pope  immediately  after  we  left  arrested  this 
amusement;  so  that  we  did  not  lose  anything  by  our  departure. 

fThe  writer,  many  years  ago,  in  conversation,  thus  described 
the  execution.  He  spoke  of  the  head  being  passed  around  on  a 
platter  for  exhibition — the  mouth  and  eyes  wide  open — a  most 
ghastly  sight.  Suddenly,  as  if  life  had  not  before  been  extinct, 
after  a  lapse  of  several  minutes,  it  gave  a  gasp,  and  in  this  instant 
the  eyes  and  mouth  closed  in  death. 


ioo  OVER  SEAS 

My  projected  excursion  to  the  falls  of  the  Arno  at 
Tivoli  was  made  yesterday.  This  is  an  excursion  which 
lovers  of  the  picturesque  and  classical  should  not  think 
of  omitting.  Impelled  by  the  spirit  of  Dr.  Syntax,  I  ac- 
cordingly went.  We  set  out  at  an  early  hour,  in  order  to 
take  in  several  remarkable  places  on  our  way,  and  ar- 
rived at  Tivoli,  about  eighteen  miles  distant,  at  9  o'clock. 
After  breakfast,  we  took  a  cicerone  with  us,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  the  Temple  of  Vesta,  said  by  Plutarch  to  have 
been  erected  by  Numa  Pompilius.  Independently  of  its 
picturesque  locality,  it  is  in  itself  an  elegant  little  structure 
and  of  such  correct  and  perfect  proportions  that  even  in 
its  ruins  it  serves  as  a  model  of  the  pure  Corinthian  order. 

Situated  on  a  lofty  cliff  that  projects  boldly  over  the 
falls  on  one  side  of  the  Tiburtine  valley,  it  commands  a 
distant  view  of  Rome  and  the  Campagna,  while  the  un- 
broken torrent  of  the  Arno,  fretted  by  the  numberless 
caverns  which  for  ages  it  has  been  wearing  in  the  rocks 
that  impede  its  progress,  foams  around  its  base  and  falls 
with  a  deafening  roar  in  the  abyss  below. 

We  afterwards  descended  by  a  rugged  and  precip- 
itous path  down  the  mountain  to  a  large  cave  called  the 
Grotto  of  Neptune.  This  grotto  consists  of  a  number  of 
caverns,  worn  and  fretted  in  the  rock,  into  which  nearly 
the  whole  body  of  the  water  is  precipitated.  Here  from  a 
projecting  strip  of  tableland  the  cascade  may  be  seen  to 
advantage.  Byron  calls  this  the  "horribly  beautiful," 
and  Salvator  Rosa,  who  excelled  in  the  horribly  sublime, 
is  here  said  to  have  failed.  The  waters  seem  to  rush  from 
out  the  depths  of  this  grotto  in  the  greatest  commotion, 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  101 

and  the  white  foam  and  spray  form  a  striking  contrast 
with  the  dark  and  obscured  recesses  from  which  the  water 
surges.  The  noise  of  the  pent-up  waters  in  this  subter- 
ranean prison  is  quite  deafening.  Just  above  this  grotto 
is  the  Temple  of  the  Tiburtine  Sybil,  situated  on  an 
isolated  rock  overlooking  one  of  the  wildest  dells  im- 
aginable. Perhaps  no  spot  could  have  been  better  cal- 
culated for  her  mystic  rites  than  this,  where  one  might 
fancy  himself  on  haunted  ground,  and  that  the  tutelary 
deity  of  the  place  hovered  around  the  general  ruin.  Far 
below  the  Siren's  grot  may  be  seen  from  that  of  Neptune, 
where  the  last  cascatella  rushes  down  with  astonishing 
impetuosity  through  a  continued  passage  into  the  plains 
below  and  afterwards  pursues  its  quiet  way  to  the  Tiber. 
The  city  of  Tivoli  is  said  to  have  been  founded  462 
years  before  Rome,  and  it  abounds  in  interest  to  the 
scholar,  the  painter,  the  poet,  and  the  naturalist.  We 
amused  ourselves  in  examining  the  petrifactions  which  are 
numerous  in  the  vicinity,  among  which  was  that  of  a 
wheel  of  an  ancient  car,  distinctly  and  perfectly  seen  in 
the  solid  rock.  Not  having  time  to  visit  the  villas  of 
Horace,  Varus,  Macaenus,  etc.,  in  this  neighborhood,  we 
returned  to  Adrian's  Villa,  which  was  on  our  route  home- 
ward. This  extensive  villa,  which  had  a  circuit  of  seven 
miles,  once  contained  a  great  number  of  edifices  which 
Adrian  caused  to  be  erected  after  his  own  designs  in  im- 
itation of  the  most  remarkable  places  he  had  seen  in 
Egypt,  Asia,  and  in  Greece — such,  for  instance,  as  the 
Temple  of  Serapis,  the  Lyceum  of  Aristotle,  the  Aca- 
demia  of  Plato,   etc.    The  ruins  of  temples,   porticos, 


102  OVER  SEAS 

theaters,  and  baths  are  here  so  numerous  as  to  form  a 
perfect  maze,  and  the  numberless  works  of  art  that  have 
been  rescued  from  these  ruins  have  largely  contributed 
to  enrich  the  treasures  of  the  Vatican.  Many  of  the 
buildings  show  their  primitive  arrangement  and  design, 
and,  with  the  assistance  of  an  intelligent  guide,  we  de- 
rived a  great  deal  of  information.  The  barracks  of  the 
Praetorian  Guards,  which  it  is  said  were  once  capable 
of  concealing  the  incredible  number  of  100,000  men,  are 
sufficiently  preserved  to  show  that  such  was  very  probably 
the  fact.  The  Tomb  of  Plautus  and  the  Tartar  Lake  were 
included  in  this  day's  excursion. 

I  am  now  making  my  parting  calls  on  my  acquaint- 
ances, preparatory  to  leaving  this  place  and  commencing 
my  rounds  to  all  my  favorite  haunts  among  the  ruins,  in 
order  to  impress  their  features  more  strongly  upon  my 
memory.  It  is  nearly  as  melancholy,  if  not  more  so,  to 
me,  to  leave  these  inanimate  things,  which  have  con- 
tributed so  much  to  the  pleasure  of  my  stay  here,  as  to 
leave  my  acquaintances,  when  I  reflect  that  I  shall  never 
behold  them  again.  In  our  converse  with  the  works  of 
Nature  there  is  no  intrusion  of  the  jarring  passions  which 
affect  mankind,  and  the  quiet  solitude  of  these  ruins,  un- 
disturbed by  no  malicious  feelings  incident  to  human 
nature,  give  a  sacred  retieat,  whose  enjoyment,  though 
negative,  we  are  certain  will  not  prove  so  fallacious  and 
ungrateful  as  our  intercourse  with  society. 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  103 

"There  is  given 
Unto  the  things  of  earth  which  Time  has  bent 
A  spirit's  feeling,  and  where  he  has  leant 
His  hand,  but  broke  his  scythe,  there  is  a  power 
And  magic  in  the  ruined  battlement; 
For  which  the  palace  of  the  present  hour 
Must  yield  its  pomp  and  wait  till  ages  are  its  dower." 

The  past  few  evenings  have  been  extremely  pleasant, 
and  I  have  indulged  myself  in  rambling  through  the  ruins 
of  the  Forum  Romanum  by  moonlight,  but  the  most  de- 
servedly favorite  walk  is  the  Colosseum,  which  is  near  the 
Forum.  Those  who  wish  to  enjoy  this  fully  must  regret 
that  it  is  so  commonly  the  resort  of  strangers  on  these 
moonlight  nights,  which  tends  to  disturb  the  silence  and 
solitude  so  essential  to  its  enjoyment.  How  inconsonant 
it  is  with  the  character  of  the  place  to  see  its  ruinated 
arches,  its  spacious  and  grass-grown  arena,  and  its  mossy 
and  ivied  walls  peopled  by  liveried  servants  and  gay 
equipages,  and  to  hear  the  chattering  of  ladies  and  the 
loud  vociferations  of  men  trying  to  awake  the  echoes  of 
the  vast  ruin!  The  first  time  I  went  there,  there  were 
about  twenty-four  English  persons  and  two  or  three 
Americans.  As  we  were  collected  together,  without  a 
guide,  at  an  eligible  point  of  view  opposite  the  main 
entrance,  I  was  amused  with  listening  to  the  expres- 
sions of  the  different  characters  of  the  party.  "Law 
me !  did  you  ever  see  anything  like  it? "  said  one.  "Bless 
me,  how  pretty !"  said  another.  '  'Well,  this  will  tell  well 
in  our  journals,"  said  a  third.  While  a  fourth  wondered 
"What  would  Mr.  Smith  say  to  all  this  if  he  were  here?" 
There  was  one  fat  My  Lord  of  the  party  and  his  spouse,  a 


io4  OVER  SEAS 

homely  My  Ladyship,  on  whom  those  who  had  no  opinions 
of  their  own  to  express  depended  as  their  oracles.  My 
Lord,  of  course,  feeling  duly  sensible  of  the  deference 
which  was  paid  to  his  opinions,  uttered  them  with  oracular 
precision,  and  with  all  the  deliberation  and  dignity  of 
his  rank  crossed  his  hands  before  him,  tapped  his  snuff- 
box at  expressive  intervals,  and  occasionally  refreshed  his 
olfactories  and  his  barren  wit  while  he  gave  vent  to  his 
empty  utterances. 

This  was  my  first  visit,  but  the  last  one  was  more 
fortunate.  The  hour  was  later,  and  the  crowd  having  re- 
tired left  the  ruin  in  almost  perfect  loneliness,  except  here 
and  there  a  figure  might  be  seen  gliding  ghost-like  among 
the  broken  arcades,  and  the  feeble  glimmerings  of  the 
torch  of  the  monkish  guide  was  occasionally  to  be  seen 
appearing  and  disappearing  among  the  broken  columns. 
At  length,  having  no  further  duties  to  perform,  he  retired 
to  his  cell,  which  was  built  in  one  of  the  nooks  of  the 
Podium.  The  silence  at  length  was  only  interrupted  by 
the  measured  tread  of  the  sentinel,  the  sound  of  a  dis- 
tant clock,  or  the  whirring  wing  of  a  bat.  Echo,  as  if 
fatigued  with  answering  to  the  impertinent  demands  of 
clamorous  voices,  relapsed  into  a  sleep  from  which  she 
might  be  startled  by  the  lightest  tread.  The  least  sound 
might  be  audible,  and  the  sudden  tramp  of  a  footstep 
upon  the  hollow-sounding  pavement  was  reverberated 
from  every  point  of  the  circular  arena  and  re-echoed  by 
every  arcade.  At  such  an  hour  and  under  such  circum- 
stances we  can  only  enjoy  this  walk  to  advantage.  It  is 
not  merely  sufficient  that  this  ruin  should  be  seen,  but  its 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  105 

imposing  grandeur  must  be  felt.  There  is  a  nobleness  and 
sublimity  in  it  which  impresses  the  mind  with  a  rever- 
ential awe,  mingled  with  an  admiration  amounting  to  re- 
spect for  the  minds  of  those  who  could  dare  to  rear  such 
a  gigantic  structure.  Our  wonder  arises  not  so  much  from 
reflection  that  such  a  plan  should  have  been  devised,  but 
that  such  a  stupendous  edifice  should  have  even  been 
reared  and  executed.  But  the  Roman  emperors  well  knew 
how  to  subserve  their  own  pride  by  erecting  monumental 
trophies  to  perpetuate  their  names,  by  pampering  to  the 
luxurious  tastes  of  their  subjects.  Hence  we  find  that 
these  colossal  buildings  are  generally  baths,  temples,  and 
amphitheatres  which  were  public  buildings  for  the  amuse- 
ment or  accommodation  of  the  populace.  How  well  these 
emperors  succeeded  in  rendering  their  names  immortal 
these  fragments  remain  to  show.  They  still  exist,  and 
may  still  exist  long  after  we,  who,  now  lament  their  decay, 
shall  have  passed  away  and  been  forgotten.  They  are  as 
pages  in  the  book  of  History,  telling  in  the  language  of 
Ossian  a  tale  of  the  times  of  old — the  deeds  of  days  of 
other  years, but  tell  us  at  the  same  time  of  sanctioned  crime, 
of  abused  power,  and  fallen  ambition.  While  we  con- 
template this  venerable  pile,  great  even  in  its  desolation 
and  beautiful  even  in  its  ruin,  we  cannot  wish  it  other 
than  as  it  is — a  splendid  subject  for  the  painter,  a  de- 
licious treat  for  the  antiquary,  and  an  object  of  venera- 
tion for  the  devotee ;  presenting  not  an  unapt  picture  of 
Rome  itself. 

"  When  falls  the  Colosseum,  Rome  (itself)  shall  fall." 


106  OVER  SEAS 

As  I  stood  in  the  center  of  the  grass-grown  arena  and 
surveyed  each  part  with  thoughtful  attention,  I  reflected 
how  many  years  had  rolled  over  this  structure,  how  many 
events  had  transpired,  and  how  many  revolutions  and 
vicissitudes  nations  had  experienced  since  its  erection — 
more  than  half  a  million  suns  had  passed  over  it,  and  that 
religion  which  was  cemented  by  the  blood  of  the  martyrs 
shed  on  this  very  spot  has  been  hailed  by  millions  in  a 
hemisphere  which  was  then  unknown.  Everything  trans- 
pired to  lend  a  pleasing  charm  to  this  scene.  Above  us 
the  horizon  was  limited  by  the  lofty  circular  walls,  which 
presented  a  ragged  outline  upon  the  clear  blue  sky  studded 
with  innumerable  stars,  which  seemed  like  an  immense 
vaulted  canopy  suspended  over  our  heads.  The  moon's 
white  disk  appeared  above  the  exterior  wall  on  one  side 
and  shed  a  mild  silvery  light  upon  the  objects  on  the  op- 
posite side.  There  was  a  quiet  repose  suited  to  the 
time  and  place,  which  had  a  soothing  effect  upon  the 
feelings,  and  a  deep  silence,  only  interrupted  at  times  by 
the  low  sullen  moaning  of  the  wind  through  the  arcades, 
well  calculated  to  inspire  a  pleasing  awe. 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  107 


XIV. 

Naples,  February,  1829. 

On  arriving  at  Naples  the  Studio  was  our  first  at- 
traction, which  contains,  besides  many  valuable  paintings 
and  statues,  nearly  everything  that  was  heretofore  dis- 
covered at  Pompeii  and  Herculaneum — the  latter  alone 
being  sufficient  to  form  an  entire  museum.  The  statues 
are  chiefly  in  bronze  and  some  in  marble,  denoting  a  high 
state  of  perfection  in  sculpture  among  the  ancients  at  the 
time  those  cities  were  buried.  Every  article  is  preserved 
in  the  state  in  which  it  was  found ;  such,  for  instance,  as 
culinary  vessels  containing  bread  and  meat,  and  even  the 
half-baked  food  left  in  their  ovens  by  the  inhabitants  in 
their  precipitous  flight.  The  preservation  of  these  other- 
wise perishable  articles  has  been  assisted  in  a  great 
measure  by  their  being  in  a  carbonated  state.  Arms, 
sacrificial  vases,  culinary  utensils,  toilet  ornaments,  and 
everything,  even  to  juvenile  playthings,  are  here  de- 
posited. These  things  served  to  excite  our  curiosity  still 
more  to  see  the  cities  themselves  and  to  witness  the  ex- 
cavations which  are  daily  going  on. 

We  set  out  with  a  resolution  of  going  to  Pompeii  and 
Herculaneum  and  ascending  Mount  Vesuvius  the  same 
day,  making  in  all  thirty-six  miles,  going  and  returning. 
We  did  so,  notwithstanding  the  difficulty  of  ascending  the 
mountain,  which  rendered  this  excursion  very  fatiguing. 
We  reached  Pompeii  about  11  o'clock,  and  spent  three 


108  OVER  SEAS 

hours  in  perambulating  its  streets,  the  greater  part  of  which 
has  been  uncovered.  We  went  into  all  its  temples,  thea- 
ters, tribunals, markets, etc.,  and  the  residences  of  the  most 
conspicuous  inhabitants — their  names  being  generally 
engraved  upon  the  door-posts.  Among  these  residences 
the  house  of  Cicero  was  pointed  out  to  us.  The  stones  of 
which  the  city  is  built,  having  been  imbedded  in  light  lava 
ashes,  are  nearly  as  entire  as  they  were  eighteen  hundred 
years  ago,  not  having  been  exposed  to  decomposition  by 
the  action  of  the  atmosphere.  The  mosaic  pavements  are 
many  of  them  as  when  they  were  buried,  and  the  fresco 
paintings  and  gilding  of  the  walls  are  fresh  and  vivid  after 
washing  the  ashes  from  their  surface.  The  tracks  of 
wheels  are  worn  deep  into  the  pavement — the  streets 
are  very  narrow  with  trottoirs  and  curbstones — and  the 
houses  are  only  one  story  high.  In  one  of  the  shops  are 
shown  the  marks  of  glasses  upon  the  marble  counter, 
where  acids  or  medicated  liquors  had  been  sold  and  had 
corroded  the  marble.  The  streets  of  the  Tombs  must  have 
been  beautiful,  being  enfiladed  by  two  rows  of  white 
marble  monuments,  too  large  for  transportation  to  the 
museum  or  to  excite  the  cupidity  of  robbers,  they 
have  been  suffered  to  remain,  exhibiting  fine  subjects 
for  the  pencil  and  for  the  contemplation  of  persons  of 
taste.  Our  guide  pointed  out  to  us  those  places  in  which 
skeletons  had  been  found  and  described  their  different 
situations  when  they  were  overtaken  by  destruction. 
Some  were  caught  in  the  act  of  flying  with  their  portable 
wealth,  and  one  old  fellow  with  his  servant  was  uncer- 
moniously  detained  with  his  bags  of  money,  in  which 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  109 

r 

situation  he  was  found.  Two  gentlemen  skeletons  were 
also  found  in  the  barracks  of  the  Praetorian  Guards  in  the 
stocks,  rather  incapacitated  at  that  urgent  moment  for 
any  prompt  maneuver,  and  waiting  very  demurely  for  the 
day  of  judgment. 

Returning  towards  Naples,  we  stopped  at  Hercu- 
laneum,  where  we  procured  mules  to  ascend  Vesuvius. 
The  excavations  are  going  on  but  slowly,  on  account  of 
the  village,  which  is  built  over  the  ancient  city  and  com- 
pels them  to  fill  up  as  fast  as  they  excavate.  The  road 
from  this  place  to  the  top  of  Vesuvius  is  about  four  miles, 
and  being  filled  with  volcanic  stones  and  lava  our  mules 
had  considerable  difficulty  in  ascending.  However,  we 
attained  the  summit  in  about  two  hours.  We  viewed  the 
interior  of  the  crater  under  very  favorable  circumstances 
— having  reached  it  just  before  dusk,  we  saw  it  by  day- 
light, after  dark,  and  finally  when  the  moon  lose.  It  is 
needless  to  say  how  much  pleased  we  were  with  this  great 
natural  phenomenon.* 

♦Following  the  above  letter  there  is  a  note  or  memorandum, 
which  reads: 

"Left  Rome  February  3d  and  arrived  at  Naples  February 
6th.  Remained  a  week  at  that  place,  and  embarked  on  board  a 
Genoese  vessel  bound  for  Leghorn  and  Genoa. 

"We  passed  in  sight  of  Elba  and  touched  at  the  port  of  Leg- 
horn, where,  on  account  of  the  reported  sickness  at  Naples,  we  were 
not  allowed  to  land.  Pursued  our  voyage  to  Genoa,  making  about 
six  days  from  Naples. 

"We  were  put  in  quarantine  for  fifteen  days." 


no  OVER  SEAS 


XV. 

Naples,  February,  1829. 

We  LEFT  Rome  early  on  the  morning  of  the  3d  of 
February,  and  pursued  our  route  towards  Naples  over  the 
Appian  Way.  On  either  side  of  the  road  appears  a  row 
of  dilapidated  old  tombs  crumbling  into  shapeless  mounds 
over  the  dust  of  those  whose  memory  they  can  no  longer 
perpetuate. 

About  fourteen  or  fifteen  miles  from  Rome  is  the  city 
of  Albano,  which  is  the  favorite  resort  of  pleasure  parties 
during  the  summer  months.  It  stands  on  the  declivity 
of  a  gentle  eminence,  the  summit  of  which  overlooks  the 
valley  of  the  Tiber  and  commands  an  extensive  view  of 
the  Latin  coast.  While  our  vetturino  stopped  to  refresh 
his  horses  we  ascended  the  hill  to  enjoy  this  view  as  well  as 
that  of  the  lovely  Lake  Albano.  On  the  one  hand  the  lake 
stretches  out  for  many  miles  towards  the  Mediterranean, 
and  presents  a  flat  and  unvarying  surface  without  cultiva- 
tion or  inhabitants.  The  deep  blue  expanse,  so  peculiar 
to  the  Mediterranean,  hems  in  the  faint  outlines  of  the 
shore  (which  is  only  broken  at  intervals  by  some  solitary 
and  moldering  tower)  and  closes  in  the  view  of  the  horizon 
in  this  direction.  On  the  other  hand  is  seen  behind  us  the 
tranquil  waters  of  a  lake  (embosomed  by  high  banks  cov- 
ered with  thick  foliage),  which  was  once  the  crater  of  an 
extinct  volcano. 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  in 

"And  here  Albano's  scarce  divided  waves 

Shine  from  a  sister  valley: — and  afar 
The  Tiber  winds  and  the  broad  ocean  laves 

The  Latin  coast,  where  sprang  the  Epic  war, 

Arms  and  the  man,  whose  reascending  star 
Rose  o'er  an  empire;  but  beneath  thy  right, 

Fully  reposed  from  Rome ,  and  where  yon  bar 
Of  girdling  mountains  intercept  the  sight, 
The  Sabine  farm  was  till'd,  the  weary  bard's  delight." 

It  is  said  that  this  city  was  founded  400  years  befoie 
Rome,  by  Aseanius,  the  son  of  ^Bneas.  They  pretend  to 
show  the  mausoleum  erected  in  honor  of  the  founder, 
which  is  a  large  pyramidal  pile  near  the  entrance  gate,  so 
divested  of  any  ornament  or  sepulchral  inscription  as  to 
leave  antiquaries  in  doubt  as  respects  its  origin.  A  short 
distance  beyond  the  town  is  a  canal  intended  to  drain  off 
the  waters  of  the  lake  which  formerly  inundated  the  ad- 
jacent country.  This  work,  which,  considering  the  state 
of  the  arts  among  the  Romans  and  their  then  ignor- 
ance of  the  use  of  gunpovrder,  might  be  considered  an 
extraordinary  undertaking,  was  carried  for  two  miles 
through  the  mountains  and  was  completed  in  two  years. 
This  affords  a  striking  example  of  the  then  existing  in- 
fluences of  superstition.  The  Romans,  having  laid  siege 
to  Veia,  consulted  the  oracle  of  Apollo  at  Delphos,  which 
replied  that  the  Veians  could  not  be  subjugated  until 
this  lake  should  be  drained.* 


*In  the  annotations  of  Horace,  Liber  IV.,  Ode  1st,  is  the  fol- 
lowing note  on  the  Lake  Albano: 

"Not  far  from  Rome  were  the  lake,  mountains,  and  city  of 
Albano — vide  Cicero,  Div.   1,  n.   100."     During  the  war  with  the 


ii2  OVER  SEAS 

The  salubrity  of  the  mountain  air  and  the  beauty  of 
the  scenery  made  the  country  in  and  around  Albano  the 
favorite  retreat  of  the  emperors  and  illustrious  men  of 
antiquity,  and  nothing  is  more  common  than  to  meet  at 
every  turn  of  the  landscape  the  remains  of  their  villas 
and  the  ruins  of  temples,  and  the  whole  country  around, 
though  sterile  in  the  extreme,  is  nevertheless  replete  with 
pleasing  associations  to  the  classical  traveler.  Among 
the  principal  objects  of  interest  on  this  route  are  the 
Formian  Villa  of  Cicero,  together  with  the  Cenotaph, 
said  to  have  been  erected  by  his  freemen  on  the  spot 
where  he  was  assassinated ;  the  Tomb  of  the  Horatii  and 
Curatii,  or,  as  it  is  called  by  some,  the  Tomb  of  Pompey, 
on  account  of  its  Egyptian  form.  The  site  of  the  ancient 
town  of  Miturnum,  near  which  is  the  marsh  in  which 
Marius  concealed  himself  previous  to  being  delivered  into 
the  power  of  the  magistrates  of  that  city  —  the  Pontic 
Marshes.  Our  own  native  prairies  cannot  exhibit  a  more 
complete  picture  of  solitude  and  savage  sterility  than 
this  extensive  wilderness,  which  has  been  in  some  measure 
reclaimed  from  absolute  desolation  by  the  efforts  of  man. 


Veni,  Lake  Albano  overflowed  its  usual  boundary,  and  the  reply  of 
the  oracle  to  the  Romans,  when  consulted,  was,  "Si  in  mare  fluxis- 
set,  Roman  perituram;  si  repressus  esset  Veios,"  and  accordingly  the 
Romans,  with  remarkable  perseverance,  set  about  the  reduction 
of  its  waters,  which  were  soon  after  to  fertilize  the  lands  below 
the  city. 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  n3 


XVI. 

Genoa,  February  17,  1829. 

My  last  letter  was  written  just  on  the  eve  of  em- 
barking at  Naples  in  a  vessel  bound  for  Leghorn  and 
Genoa.  It  was  with  great  delight  that  I  commenced  this 
voyage,  with  the  pleasant  reflection  that  I  was  once  more 
bending  my  way  homeward ;  and  while  sailing  with  a  fair 
wind  out  of  that  beautiful  bay  I  saw  the  castellated  hills 
and  white  palaces  of  Naples  gradually  recede  and  blend 
with  the  fading  horizon  without  the  least  emotion  or 
regret,  conscious  that  I  was  leaving  a  land  of  mendicants 
and  slaves  to  breathe  once  more  the  pure  air  of  liberty 
and  enjoy  the  welcome  of  my  friends.  From  the  vessel  I 
could  discern  the  smoky  summit  of  Vesuvius  long  after 
Naples  had  sunk  from  view  beneath  the  horizon,  and  in 
six  days  we  arrived  safely  at  Genoa,  having  touched  for  a 
short  time  at  Leghorn.  My  pleasure  on  having  completed 
this  short  but  disagreeable  voyage  was  marred  by  the 
mortification  of  being  quarantined  in  port.  You  may 
judge  of  my  feelings  on  being  thus  incarcerated  and  de- 
tained, especially  as  every  soul  on  board  enjoyed  un- 
usually good  health,  and  the  courier  who  brought  the  in- 
formation that  there  was  a  contagious  disease  at  Naples 
had  arrived  only  a  few  hours  before  us.  We  had  heard 
nothing  of  the  kind  before  embarking,  and  supposed  it 
was  a  ruse  in  order  to  prevent  the  foreigners  from  flocking 
to  Naples  from  Rome  after  the  death  of  the  Pope,  which 


H4  OVER  SEAS 

recent  event  put  an  end  to  all  gaiety  at  the  latter  place 
and  made  Naples  the  most  attractive.  But,  however 
that  might  be,  we  were  here  imprisoned  with  the  prospect 
of  remaining  on  board*  as  great  a  length  of  time  as  it  had 
occupied  to  make  our  voyage  across  the  Atlantic  and 
without  any  resources  or  any  species  of  amusement 
whatever.  Confinement  and  inaction  are  at  all  times 
irksome,  but  to  me,  under  such  circumstances,  they  were 
doubly  disagreeable  on  account  of  my  impatience  to 
return  home. 

Pent  up  in  a  small  cabin  of  a  small  vessel,  with  un- 
comfortable berths,  bad  cookery,  and  indifferent  com- 
pany, I  cannot  promise  that  my  letters  will  afford  you 
much  interest.  But,  as  it  is,  I  will  revert  to  my  late  ex- 
cursions in  the  vicinity  of  Naples  for  more  pleasing  sub- 
jects on  which  to  dwell.  While  there  I  made  a  short  tour 
around  the  Bay  of  Baise,  which  place  is  replete  with  clas- 
sical associations  and  is  the  scene  of  many  of  Virgil's  and 
Horace's  descriptions.  Lake  Avernus,  for  instance,  Vir- 
gil's fabled  entrance  to  the  infernal  regions,  is  among  the 
earliest  recollections  of  my  school-days,  and  has  no  at- 
traction except  that  which  poetry  and  fable  have  at- 
tached to  it.  The  description  which  he  gives  in  the  Sixth 
Book  comports  with  its  desolate  and  sterile  aspects,  as 
also  that  of  Fenelon,  where  Telemachus  is  represented  as 
seeking  his  father  Ulysses  in  the  infernal  shades.  But  it 
is  no  longer  noxious  and  fatal  as  Virgil  has  described  by 


*Possibly  the  ship  Mentor,  of  which  we  have  the  sketch  of  the 
captain. 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  115 

the  sulphurous  exhalations  from  the  waters  of  the  lake. 
The  place,  however,  was  well  chosen  by  the  poet  as  the 
entrance  to  Pluto's  dominions.  The  Sybil's  grotto  on  the 
borders  of  the  lake  was  the  first  to  attract  cur  attention. 
As  nearly  as  1  can  recollect,  his  words  apply  exactly  to 
the  present  situation  of  this  cave.  He  speaks  of  it  as  "a 
profound  cavern,  whose  rocky  and  yawning  mouth  was 
screened  by  the  shadows  of  the  wood  and  hemmed  in  by 
the  black  waters  of  the  lake." 

"  Umbranum  hie  locus  est,  somni  Noctisque,  sopra." 

Accompanied  by  our  guides,  each  bearing  his  lighted 
torch,  we  entered  it  and  penetrated  about  300  yards.  It 
is  hewn  into  the  solid  rock  or  puzzolana  in  an  arched  form, 
and  is  said  to  have  been  begun  by  Nero  with  the  intention 
of  carrying  off  the  surplus  waters  of  Avernus.  At  this  end 
of  the  cave  we  stopped,  and  our  guides  then  proposed  to  us 
to  explore  the  Baths  of  the  Sybil,  which  are  two  or  three 
small  chambers  cut  into  the  rock,  and  we  entered  by  a 
narrow  passage  just  large  enough  to  admit  of  one  person 
passing  at  a  time,  and  leading  from  the  right  of  the  main 
cavern.  Here  it  was  that,  immured  from  the  sight  of  men, 
she  was  accustomed  to  add  mystery  to  her  ceremonies, 
and  from  whence  she  uttered  her  equivocal  prophecies. 
The  water  was  about  four  feet  deep  in  these  baths,  and 
our  guides  were  obliged  to  carry  us  around  them  on  their 
backs. 

After  this  I  visited  the  ruins  of  Baiae,  once  the 
favorite  residence  of  Roman  emperors  and  statesmen,  ar.d 


n6  OVER  SEAS 

celebrated  in  the  verse  of  Horace,  but  since  destroyed  by 
an  earthquake. 

Beyond  Baise  about  a  mile  is  the  River  Styx,  to  which 
I  proceeded  in  company  of  my  guide,  and  crossed  the 
Acherontic  Marsh,  which  has  now  become  dry,  sandy,  and 
unfavorable  to  vegetation.  Having  crossed  it,  I  found 
myself  on  the  banks  of  a  small  river  bordered  with  weeds, 
which  empties  into  Lake  Fusaro,  the  Tartarus  or  Acheron 
of  the  ancients.  This  was  the  true  River  of  the  Dead — 
and  I  had  now  an  opportunity  of  realizing  the  difference 
between  actual  scenes  and  the  creations  of  my  youthful 
fancies.  There  was  but  little  to  corroborate  my  early 
impressions  respecting  the  fabled  conceits  of  the  poet  in 
the  well-remembered  story  of  Mneas'  descent  to  the  lower 
regions  and  visit  to  the  Elysian  Fields.  But  the  solitude 
and  silence  of  such  a  place  might  have  given  rise  to  such 
imagery.  The  rustling  of  the  winds  along  the  reedy  shore 
might  have  been  the  fancied  flight  of  startled  ghosts  at 
the  approach  of  mortal  footsteps,  and  the  shriek  of  the 
wild  birds  that  mounted  on  the  wing  might,  by  a  further 
stretch  of  the  imagination,  have  been  compared  to  the 
wailings  of  condemned  spirits.  There  was  not  a  human 
being  near  us,  and  the  place  was  altogether  lone  and  des- 
olate. I  endeavored  to  summon  to  my  mind  the  image 
of  Charon  as  depicted  in  the  "A^neid":  A  squalid  and 
hoary  old  fellow  with  blood-shot  eyes,  yet  still  in  a  green 
old  age;  his  sordid  garments  knotted  around  him  and 
hanging  in  folds  from  his  brawny  shoulders,  propelling 
with  lusty  sinews  his  crazy  bark  across  the  Stygian  waves, 
and  dispersing  with  his  oar  the  crowd  of  querulous  ghosts 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  117 

who  rush  with  tumultuous  anxiety  towards  him  as  he 
nears  the  shore.  They  are  compared,  in  beautiful  simile, 
to  the  rushing  of  early  autumn  leaves  or  the  waves  of  the 
seashore,  or  to  the  sound  of  many  wings  when  the  gath- 
ering flocks,  urged  by  the  storms  of  winter,  take  their 
flight  for  more  congenial  climes. 

With  the  external  appearance  of  Naples  I  was  much 
pleased,  and  nothing  can  be  said  to  equal  the  beauty  of 
the  bay  and  surrounding  scenery ;  but  I  can  say  nothing 
more;  the  depravity  of  morals  among  its  inhabitants  is 
proverbial.  I  would  in  a  word  compare  this  city  to  a 
splendid  sepulchre  adorned  with  sculptured  marble,  while 
within  all  is  decay  and  corruption.  So  little  is  there  of 
virtue  that  a  man's  worth  may  be  reckoned  by  his  dis- 
tance from  the  gallows.  I  felt  happy  in  leaving  it,  and 
am  more  convinced  than  ever  of  the  superiority  of  our 
own  country  by  comparison. 


n8  OVER  SEAS 


XVII. 

Paris,  March  20,  1829.* 

In  leaving  Genoa  we  proceeded  on  our  journey  to- 
wards Nice,  which  is  situated  on  the  frontier  of  France, 
in  the  lovely  valley  of  the  Var.  Instead  of  taking  the 
more  expeditious  mode  of  traveling  by  courier,  we  pre- 
ferred the  voiture,  as  enabling  us  to  view  more  leisurely 
and  satisfactorily  the  military  road  between  these  two 
places,  which  presents  an  admirable  instance  of  the  grand 
conceptions  of  Napoleon's  genius,  and,  like  the  read  over 
the  Alps,  is  another  imperishable  monument  to  his  great- 
ness. It  is  by  such  conquests  as  these — where  Nature 
has  been  subdued  to  the  dominion  of  man — that  he  has 
shed  more  lasting  glory  around  his  fame  and  reaped  more 


*"I  arrived  at  this  place  [Paris]  a  few  days  since,  and  took  up 
my  old  lodging  in  the  Rue  Vivienne.  My  health  is  unusually  good, 
arising  from  constant  exercise  and  traveling  through  the  salubrious 
climates  of  Italy  and  the  south  of  France.  The  whole  journey  is 
about  3,000  miles  since  I  left  this  place,  and  I  have  computed  that 
when  I  return  I  shall  have  been  over  about  14,000  miles,  including 
my  voyages  across  the  Atlantic,  making  six  out  of  twelve  months' 
furlough  that  will  have  been  spent  constantly  en  route  at  an  average 
of  about  80  miles  per  day.  I  have  been  to  see  General  Lafayette. 
He  enjoys  excellent  health,  and  attends  constantly  to  his  numerous 
duties,  and  has  afforded  every  facility  for  attending  the  debates  in 
the  Chamber  of  Deputies.  Lieutenant  Fessenden  is  going  to  Brus- 
sels and  thence  to  London,  and  I  shall  go  through  Havre  and  meet 
him  in  Liverpool. — /.  F." 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  119 

fadeless  laurels  than  those  he  acquired  by  his  most  bril- 
liant achievements  in  the  field;  for  so  long  as  posterity 
shall  be  benefited  by  such  works,  so  long  must  his  name 
be  remembered  as  their  projector. 

Until  within  a  few  years  the  Sardinian  Government 
opposed  the  constiuction  of  the  grand  military  read  from 
motives  of  policy,  fearing  their  Gallic  neighbors  and 
feeling  a  kind  of  security  behind  that  natural  entrench- 
ment which  the  Apennines  afforded.  The  intercourse, 
consequently,  between  the  French  and  Sardinian  Govern- 
ments had  before  been  comparatively  restricted  and  de- 
pendent on  the  toilsome  passage  of  a  rugged  and  mount- 
ainous bridle-road  on  the  backs  of  mules,  or  upon  a  pre- 
caiious  voyage  by  sea  in  a  kind  of  coasting  vessel,  called 
by  the  Genoese  feluccas. 

It  was  early  in  the  morning,  before  sunrise,  when  we 
left  Genoa;  the  city  was  still  in  a  state  of  profound 
quietude,  and  except  a  few  straggling  devotees  proceeding 
devoutly  and  demurely  to  their  matins,  and  here  and 
there  a  drowsy  sentinel,  few  inhabitants  were  abroad  at 
that  hour.  I  felt  pleased  at  leaving  a  place  where  I  had 
been  detained  so  long  in  the  vile  durance  of  quarantine, 
and  elated  at  the  prospect  of  returning  once  mere  to 
France.  The  morning  was  delightful — the  primavera  had 
commenced,  and  the  pure  and  invigorating  freshness 
of  the  sea  breeze  from  the  Mediterranean,  laden  with  the 
rich  fragrance  of  the  orange  groves,  gave  pleasure  to  the 
sense  and  exhilaration  to  the  system.  It  was  so  early  in 
the  morning  that  the  city  gates  were  not  yet  opened,  and 
while  waiting  and  contemplating  the  scene  I  have  de 


120  OVER  SEAS 

scribed  from  the  windows  of  the  carriage  my  attention  was 
arrested  by  an  unusual  noise,  for  which  at  first  I  was  at  a 
loss  to  account.     It  was  a  confused  hum  of  a  multitude, 
and  formed  a  strange  contrast  with  the  stillness  and  re- 
pose of  the  sleeping  city ;  but  the  mystery  was  soon  solved. 
A  guard  of  soldiers  was  drawn  up  to  flank  the  gate*,  and 
no  sooner  were  they  thrown  open  than  a  promiscuous 
crowd  rushed  in.     Men,  women,  and  children  of  all  ages 
and  descriptions,  fowls  of  the  air,  beasts  of  the  field, 
cattle,  and  creeping  things,  came  in  one  motley  crowd, 
like  the  emancipated  of  Noah's  Ark.     The  cause  of  this, 
it  appears,  is  a  certain  custom  in  Genoa  not  to  allow  the 
market  people  to  enter  the  city  until  a  specified  hour,  by 
reason  of  which  the  peasants  collect  in  the  narrow  road 
leading  to  the  city  gate  and  fill  it  up  with  a  dense  crowd, 
extending  perhaps  for  half   a  mile.     This  scene  was   as 
picturesque  as  it  was  novel,  and  would  have  afforded  an 
inexhaustible  study  for  the  pencil  of  a  Moreland,  a  Wilkie, 
or  a  Hogarth.     Such  grouping,  such  various  costumes, 
such  a  diversity  of  character,  and  such  a  mingling  of  the 
picturesque,  the  grotesque,  and  the  burlesque,  I  had  never 
before  seen.     It  was  with  some  difficulty  that  we  threaded 
our  way  through  the  busy  groups  as  they  hurried  by  us, 
impatient  to  reach  the  mart  before  their  neighbors. 

At  length  we  pursued  our  way  unobstructed  towards 
the  little  town  of  Cogoletto.  This,  like  most  of  the  small 
towns  on  the  margin  of  this  coast,  is  built  low  down  on 
the  sandy  shore,  crowded,  seemingly,  into  the  sea  by  the 
high  ridges  and  bluffs  which  extend  down  from  the  Ap- 
ennines, and  is  inhabited  almost  entirely  by  fishermen, 


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The  Birthplace  of  Christopher  Columbus. 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  121 

who,  living  nearly  all  the  time  upon  the  water,  pitch  like 
sea-birds  upon  those  little  sunny  spots  which  are  to  be 
found  among  the  numerous  indentations  of  this  rocky 
coast.  Here  they  build  their  fishing-boats,  or  feluccas, 
and  their  houses — which  latter  are  a  rather  secondary 
consideration  with  them— as  sea-birds  build  nests  for 
their  offspring.  These  fishing-huts  are  built  generally  of 
white  stone,  and  arranged  parallel  to  the  curvature  of  the 
shore,  and  present,  when  viewed  at  a  distance  from  the 
sea,  a  speciously  imposing  appearance.  It  was  in  this 
little  town  that  our  vetturino  halted  to  refresh  his  horses, 
and  at  an  inn  which  was  called  the  best  in  the  place.  It 
was  no  other  than  a  small  auberge  of  most  promising  ex- 
terior, which  under  any  other  circumstances  would  have 
been  called  unpromising  were  it  not  for  the  luminous 
display  of  charcoal  and  whitewash  letters  over  the  door 
by  way  of  frontispiece,  which  gave  us  to  understand  that 
this  was  the  only  place  in  the  world  where  good  wine  and 
good  cheer  could  be  expected.  Of  good-will  there  was 
abundance,  but  not  exactly  calculated  to  satisfy,  at  the 
time,  a  good  appetite. 

While  we  were  waiting  for  breakfast  and  admiring 
the  prospect  of  the  sea  studded  with  white  sails,  and 
gazing  at  the  groups  of  fishermen  who  were  mending 
their  nets  on  the  beach  or  basking  with  their  squatted 
appearance  and  swarthy  faces  in  groups  here  and  there 
upon  the  strand  like  their  amphibious  brethren  of  the 
deep,  we  were  accosted  by  a  pretty  little  Sardinian  girl, 
who  had  glided  into  the  apartment  unperceived,  with, 
"Buon'  giorno,  signori!     Buono  giorno!"    We  returned  her 


122  OVER  SEAS 

salutation  and  accepted  a  paper  which  she  held  to  us, 
adding:  "Qui  este  e  il  paese  di  Colombo — Volete  videre  la 
sua  casa."  We  read  it,  and  understood  that  the  house 
in  which  Columbus  was  born  was  within  a  few  steps  of 
our  inn.  We  accordingly  went  to  visit  it  while  waiting 
for  breakfast,  and  I  amused  myself  with  taking  a  sketch 
of  it  for  your  edification. 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  123 


XVIII. 

[This  description  was  read  to  me  by  my  father  as  long  ago  as 
1850,  and  was  written  by  him  shortly  after  his  visit  to  the  chateau 
of  his  "old  friend  and  college  chum."  My  impression  is,  that  the 
letter  was  written  in  the  same  vein  or  spirit  as  the  description  on 
page  10,  "A  Moonlight  Scene,"  and  as  a  test  of  his  descriptive 
powers,  fiction  founded  on  fact.] 

The  site  of  the  chateau  of  my  old  friend  and 
college  chum  had  been  judiciously  and  tastefully  se- 
lected as  combining  all  the  advantages  that  unas- 
sisted Nature  could  offer  to  promote  health  and  grat- 
ify the  lover  of  the  picturesque.  This  spot  reminded 
me  of  the  valley  of  the  Arno  where  it  laves  the  feet  of 
the  Queen  of  Italy — Florence.  Embosomed  in  hills 
which  shelter  it  in  winter,  and  situated  on  a  table-land 
of  gentle  declivity,  gradually  sloping  down  to  the  bay  at 
the  south,  while  the  eastern  side  is  abruptly  terminated 
by  picturesque  crags  on  the  margin  of  the  creek — no  place 
could  have  been  chosen  better  suited  for  the  embellish- 
ments of  art  or  more  in  accord  with  the  genius  of  its 
owner.  On  the  one  hand,  a  commanding  view  of  the 
broad  expanse  of  the  bay,  its  blue  waters  studded  with 
the  ensigns  of  every  nation,  with  steamers  moving 
majestically  like  things  of  life  and  inhabitants  of  the 
deep;  on  the  other,  a  novel  combination  of  tranquillity 
and  rugged  beauty.  The  creek  meandering  among  the 
rocks  had  worn  irregular  channels  in  fantastic  forms  and 
deep  ravines;  now  leaping  over  declivities  in  its  nar- 


124  OVER  SEAS 

rowing  passage  and  again  pursuing  its  eddying  course  in 
harmless  whirls  around  the  banks  below  at  the  widening 
of  the  stream. 

The  approach  to  the  chateau  from  the  city,  whose 
spires  in  the  distance  could  be  distinctly  seen,  led  up  an 
avenue  shaded  by  embowering  trees,  whose  tall  trunks 
were  covered  with  the  honeysuckle  and  the  ivy;  the  car- 
riage way  en  either  side  being  bordered  with  a  sward  of 
verdure,  enameled  with  wild  flowers.  The  main  gate  at 
the  entrance  to  the  grounds  was  flanked  on  its  outer  in- 
closure  on  both  sides  by  a  porter's  lodge,  or  rather  by 
buildings  which  had  been  erected  for  a  double  purpose — 
for  ornament  and  for  the  accommodation  of  worthy 
families  who  could  not  afford  their  rents,  and  to  whom  a 
small  portion  of  ground  was  assigned  for  gardens,  which 
were  kept  in  a  high  state  of  cultivation. 

A  beautiful  little  girl,  about  twelve  years  of  age, 
neatly  dressed,  ran  out  at  the  sound  of  the  approaching 
carriage,  and,  swinging  open  the  iron  gate,  stood  with 
modest  air.  With  one  hand  on  the  latch  and  with  the 
other  passed  under  her  flowing  hair,  with  a  gentle  toss 
she  threw  her  ringlets  back  upon  her  white  neck,  and 
smiling  as  we  passed,  dropped  a  courtesy  of  welcome; 
the  excitement  at  the  moment  imparting  a  beautiful 
glow  to  her  complexion,  and  presenting  a  picture  of 
innocence  and  happiness. 

The  roadway  wound  up  an  almost  imperceptible  de- 
clivity, and  the  firm  gravel  bed,  though  crackling  under 
the  wheels  of  the  carriage,  showed  no  impress.  The  road 
was  bordered  on  each  side  by  a  curved  sward,  traced  with 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  125 

mathematical  precision  and  hemmed  in  with  rows  of  box, 
above  which  there  appeared  shrubs  of  higher  growth — 
rose-bushes,  lilacs,  and  snowballs. 

The  chateau  was  screened  from  view,  save  at  occa- 
sional vistas,  until  we  were  brought  by  a  sweeping  curve 
to  its  principal  entrance.     In  a  moment  after,  we  were 
receiving  the  gratulations  of  my  old  friend — at  one  time 
boy  companion — who,   with  his   charming  family,   had 
assembled  in  the  portico  to  greet  us.     When  I  last  saw 
him,  he  was  youthful  and  gay,  possessing  the  freshness  of 
complexion  of  the  North.     His  features  were  now  matured 
and  tempered  with  that  more    serious  cast  which  even 
the  most  buoyant  acquire  by  mingling  with  mankind 
and  contending  with  the  capiice  of  the  world.     He  had 
seen  much  of  its  unkindness,  though  not  experiencing 
actual   reverses.     Accustomed   to    some    privations   and 
learning  to  endure  by  habit,  he  had  taught  himself  to  be 
contented  in  early  life  with  mediocrity  of  fortune,  ever 
keeping  before  him  the  motto,  "Durante  et  rebus  vosmet 
servanti."*  He  patiently  awaited  the  turn  of  the  wheel. 
His  education  had  been  scientific,  but  his  inclinations 
leant  towards  the  arts,  and  whatever  combined  the  two 
did  not  fail  to  please  him.     The  delightful  retreat  he  had 
chosen  was  favorable  alike  for  seclusion  and  society,  for 
study  and  contemplation,   as  well  as  for  conversation 
with  those  whose  habits  were  congenial  with  his  own,  and 
this  spot  was  just  far  enough  removed  from  the  turmoil 


*Live,  and  reserve  yourselves  for  better  fate. — Dryden. 
Bear  up,  and  live  for  happier  days. — Conington. 


i26  OVER  SEAS 

of  a  busy  world  to  be  exempt  from  intrusion,  and  yet  near 
enough  by  boat  and  car  to  the  sphere  of  business  and 
fashion.  Here  he  had  collected  every  work  that  could 
gratify  his  taste  for  the  arts  and  contrived  every  amuse- 
ment that  could  contribute  to  the  pleasure  of  his  choicest 
friends.  In  the  arrangement  of  everything  around  him 
was  to  be  seen  a  quiet  desire  to  please,  and  his  only  flattery 
was  that  addressed  to  the  eye  of  those  who  knew  how  to 
enjoy  beautiful  objects  and  how  to  appreciate  what  they 
saw.  He  had  traveled  in  different  countries  and  had 
seen  things  delightful  as  well  as  useful,  making  it  his 
study  to  combine  these  in  such  a  manner  as  to  con- 
tribute to  his  convenience  and  pleasure  as  well  as  to  that 
of  those  around  him.  His  chateau  had  been  planned  by 
himself  after  his  own  drawings,  a  work  for  which  he  was 
eminently  qualified,  both  by  education  and  inheritance. 
The  grounds  showed  an  adaptation  of  foreign  landscape 
gaidening  to  the  wild  scenery  of  our  own  country.  The 
most  commanding  point  had  been  selected  for  his  house, 
and,  taking  advantage  of  the  conformation  and  slope  of 
the  soil,  he  had  so  arranged  as  to  have  an  extensive  lawn 
in  front,  with  an  almost  imperceptible  incline  for  about 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  down  to  the  water's  edge.  A  sea-wall 
of  pure  white  stone  bordered  the  margin  of  the  bay,  along 
which  were  planted  at  intervals  the  weeping  willow,  and 
when  seen  from  the  bay  the  effect  was  most  beautiful — 
the  water  washing  the  base  of  the  wall  reflected  its  image 
and  that  of  the  inverted  trees,  whose  trailing  branches 
touched  its  surface. 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  127 

The  landing-place  at  the  foot  of  the  avenue  was  a 
semi-circular  recess  with  concentric  steps,  in  the  center 
of  which  was  moored  a  small  yacht  for  fishing  and  pleas- 
ure parties,  with  an  elegant  cabin  and  awnings  fore  and 
aft  in  front  of  its  doors,  provided  with  lounges,  cushions, 
etc.,  every  convenience  for  aquatic  excursions.  Beside 
this  lay  a  Venetian  gondola,  which  my  friend,  in  one  of 
his  freaks  of  fancy,  had  brought  from  Venice  with  the 
costume  of  a  gondolier,  and  had  taught  one  of  his  men 
to  manage  it." 

From  this  we  might  land  readily  upon  the  steps  be- 
fore mentioned  (not  unlike  the  Venetian  style),  which 
led  to  a  small  marble  edifice  resembling  in  general  out- 
line a  triumphal  arch  with  a  large  semi-circular  recess 
in  the  center,  with  a  seat  like  a  large  niche,  with  two 
smaller  niches  on  each  side  about  the  height  of  the  breast, 
in  which  statuary  figures  were  placed. 

This  was  designed  in  imitation  of  those  retreats  he 
had  seen  at  the  Gate  of  the  Tombs  at  Pompeii  and  at 
Hadrian's  Villa. 

The  front  of  the  mansion  facing  the  bay  was  of  the 
Doric  order,  having  a  portico  of  six  columns  projecting 
and  flanked  by  two  wings  with  pilasters.  On  each  side 
of  the  grass-bordered  avenue  the  ground  had  been  ar- 
ranged to  some  width  and  so  graduated  as  to  form  hang- 
ing gardens,  slopes,  and  graveled  walks,  fountains  and 
cascades,  interspersed  with  casts  of  statues  prepared  for 
the  purpose,  whose  whiteness  contrasted  finely  with  the 
verdure  of  the  foliage. 


128  OVER  SEAS 

The  cascade  of  the  creek  being  higher  than  the  level 
of  the  mansion  rendered  it  easy  to  convey  the  water  to 
the  roof  even  of  the  chateau,  so  that  each  room  might 
"be  supplied,  and  in  each  chamber  water  was  constantly 
playing  from  some  grotesque  figure  into  marble  reser- 
voirs.   By  pipes  the  water  was  carried  in  every  direction 
around    the    grounds,    forming    mimic    waterfalls,    fish- 
ponds, islands,   and  rivulets,  and  concentrating  in  one 
large  fountain  of  about  20  feet  in  height  at  the   foot 
of  the  garden,  where  it  mingled  at  length  with  the  waters 
of  the  bay.     There  was  a  coolness  imparted  to  the  at- 
mosphere by  this  constant  flow,  and  an  evergreen  fresh- 
ness to  the  verdure  by  the  humid  spray.     The  vestibule 
or  entry  which  opened  into  the  portico  of  the  chateau 
was  of  an  elliptical   form  and  spacious,  having  niches 
around  it  in  which  statues  were  placed. 

One  part  of  the  chateau  was  appropriated  to  the 
domestic  affairs  of  the  family  and  kept  distinct  from  the 
other  part,  which  latter  was  used  for  study  and  retire- 
ment, and  it  is  here  that  my  friend  had  evinced  his  rul- 
ing passion  and  had  dedicated  it  to  the  Muses. 

From  this  side  of  the  elliptical  room  a  spacious 
arched  entry  reached  to  the  extremity  of  the  eastern 
wing,  terminating  with  a  large  circular  window  beau- 
tifully draped  with  curtains  and  corniced  with  military 
trophies. 

Fluted  Corinthian  pillars  stood  at  regular  intervals 
on  each  side  of  the  passage,  marking  the  compartments 
which  were  assigned  to  the  different  Muses.    Without  en- 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  129 

tering  into  minute  particulars  as  the  writer  lias  done, 
many  of  a  personal  nature,  and  not  intended  for  pub- 
lication, I  may  add,  in  general  terms,  that  the  furnish- 
ing and  ornaments  of  the  chateau,  as  described,  harmo- 
nized in  every  particular  with  the  taste  of  my  father's 
friend.  I  had  at  first  supposed  that  the  letters  from 
Europe  were  written  to  this  "old  college  chum  who  had 
built  for  himself  something  more  than  a  phantom  castle 
in  the  air,  and  could  well  understand  the  inspiration 
which  dictated  the  letters  from  abroad  to  this  friend  at 
home;  but  within  the  past  month  I  have  found  a  letter 
from  a  lady  friend  of  my  father's,  indicating  that  it  was  to 
her  the  letters  were  written,  and  that  they  were  treasured 
by  her  for  many  years. 

Now  that  the  reader  has  become  acquainted  with 
the  young  writer  through  the  medium  of  these  long- 
lost  letters,  I  may  venture  the  following  from  Mrs.  J. 
Bayard  Smith's  series  of  letters,  "First  Forty  Years  of 
Washington  Society" : 

"August  9,  183 1. 


"I  have  had  a  call  from  Mr.  John  Farley,  one  of  the 
most  amiable  and  agreeable  young  men.  He  is  hand- 
some, highly  informed,  and  an  intellectual  man  of  most 
exemplary  morals." 


I  have  further  disco  /ered  from  the  official  record, 
that  two  years  after  my  fathers  graduation  from  the 
Military  Academy  in  1823,  and  when  he  was  a  lieutenant 


130  OVER  SEAS 

of  the  First  Artillery,  that  he  was  engaged  in  the  survey 
of  the  route  of  the  proposed  canal  across  Cape  Cod,  the 
construction  of  which  at  this  date,  1907,  is  about  to  be 
undertaken  and  carried  to  completion: 

"A  survey  of  the  valley  and  ponds,  auxiliary  to 
a  contemplated  canal  between  Buzzard  and  Barnstable 
Bay,  State  of  Massachusetts,  and  town  of  Sandwich,  1825, 
was  made  by  Frederick  Searle,  4th  Artillery,  W.  D.  Thomp- 
son, 1st  Artillery  and  W.  B.  Thompson,  lieutenant  1st 
Infantry,  under  the  direction  of  Major  Perrault,  United 
States  Top.  Eng'rs. 

"Drawn  by  Lieutenant  W.  B.  Thompson. 

"Etched  by  Lieutenant  John  Farley." 

My  father  was  on  duty  in  the  War  Department, 
Topographical  Bureau,  in  1826,  and  in  1827  engaged  in 
the  Army  engineer  survey  of  the  canal  route  of  the  Ches- 
apeake Bay  to  Lake  Erie.  When  Prof.  Hassler,  a  dis- 
tinguished German  scientist,  was  organizing  the  United 
States  Coast  Survey,  as  its  superintendent  in  1837,  and 
while  seeking  qualified  West  Point  officers  for  the  work, 
he  tendered  to  Lieutenant  Farley  the  position  of  assist- 
ant. This  offer  was  immediately  accepted  in  the  same 
year,  and  before  his  death,  July  31,  1874,  ne  had  at- 
tained the  rank  of  senior  assistant  in  the  Geodetic  branch 
of  the  survey. 

The  care  that  was  exercised  in  the  triangulation 
work  of  the  survey  cannot  better  be  illustrated  than 
by  citing  an  instance  where  a  base-line  was  measured 
near  Baltimore  with  the  chain  by  Assistant  Blunt,  this 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  131 

officer  working  down  Chesapeake  Bay,  and  another  base 
at  Cape  Henlopen,  Delaware,  by  Assistant  Farley,  this 
officer  working  on  the  outer  coast  of  Maryland  and  Vir- 
ginia, and  when  the  work  was  completed  the  latitude 
and  longitude  of  the  closing  point  at  Cape  Charles,  Va., 
separately  determined  by  each  party,  was  found  to  be 
within  5  feet  of  each  other,  a  mean  error  of  2  feet 
6  inches ;  and  in  all  of  this  Geodetic  Survey,  covering  an 
area  of  hundreds  of  miles  and  a  period  of  many  years, 
no  communication  had  been  allowed  between  the  parties, 
the  more  effectually  to  serve  as  a  check  upon  work  which 
was  passed  into  the  Coast  Survey  Bureau  in  Washington 
at  the  close  of  each  season,  there  to  be  subjected  to  crit- 
ical mathematical  scrutiny.  The  survey  of  the  entire  At- 
lantic coast,  of  the  States  of  New  Jersey,  Delaware,  Mary- 
land, and  Virginia,  as  well  as  that  of  the  rivers  Potomac, 
York,  and  James,  was  also  completed  by  Assistant  John 
Farley,  before  the  Civil  War,  and  he  was  in  frequent 
communication  during  that  war  with  the  military  author- 
ities of  the  War  Department,  who,  I  am  informed,  found 
the  survey  and  charts  of  the  rivers  named  of  inestimable 
value  in  the  conduct  of  the  campaigns  of  1862,  '64,  and 
'65.  No  higher  tribute  could  be  paid  than  that  expressed 
by  the  superintendent  of  the  survey  in  his  obituary  cir- 
cular announcing  the  death  of  my  father  in  1874,  where- 
in he  says: 

"In  all  the  climates  of  our  extended  coast,  at  all  sea- 
sons, through  his  advancing  years,  and  without  remit- 
ting for  private  affairs,  Mr.  Farley  was  ever  ready  cheer- 


132  OVER  SEAS 

fully  and  ably  to  perform  any  field  duty  committed  to 
his  charge,  and  the  archives  of  the  survey  have  been  spe- 
cially enriched  by  his  industry  and  his  skill." 

When  I  reflect  upon  a  chance  [destruction  of  an  old 
house  on  Capitol  Hill,  in  Washington,  D.  C,  in  1905, 
as  the  means  of  bringing  to  light  the  letters  I  have  un- 
dertaken to  publish,  and  which  save  for  that  chance 
must  have  remained  forever  hidden  from  sight,  I  am 
brought  to  consider  the  words  uttered  on  another  occa- 
sion, ^though  with  different  application: 

"*  *  *  *  these  fragments  remain  to  show. 
They  still  exist  and  may  still  exist  long  after  we,  who  now 
lament  their  decay,  shall  have  passed  away  and  been 
forgotten. 

"They  are  as  pages  in  the  book  of  History,  telling  in 
the  language  of  Ossian  a  tale  of  the  times  of  old — the 
deeds  of  days  of  other  years." 

And  here  let  me  add  the  military  history  of  the  young 
writer  as  it  appears  in  Cullum's  Biographical  Register : 

"Military  History. — Cadet  at  the  Military  Academy, 
June  24,  1 8 19,  to  July  1,  1823,  when  he  was  graduated 
and  promoted  in  the  Army  to  brevet  second  lieutenant, 
Second  Artillery,  July  1,  1823;  second  lieutenant,  First 
Artillery,  July  1,  1823.  Served:  On  topographical  duty, 
August  21,  1823,  to  May  21,  1828;  on  leave  of  absence  in 
Europe,  1828-29;  on  ordnance  duty,  May  1,  to  August 
6,  1829;  on  engineer  duty,  August  6,  1829,  to  Decem- 
ber 1,  1832;  in  garrison  (first  lieutenant,  First  Artillery, 
August  1,  1S32),  at  Charleston  Har  or;  S.  C,  1832-34, 
during  South  Carolina's  threatened  nullification,  and  a 
Fort  Monroe,  Va.,  1834-35,  and  in  Florida,  1835.  Re- 
signed, February  29,  1836." 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  133 

The  Superintendent  of  the  U.  S.  Coast,  at  the  time  of 
the  death  of  my  father  in  1874,  in  obituary  orders,  refers 
to  his  personal  characteristics  and  in  these  terms: 

"The  words  lately  uttered  by  our  revered  associate 
in  his  usual  health  and  when  about  to  start  for  the 
field,  'I  have  lived  the  allotted  time  of  life;  every  day  is 
now  from  God's  bounty;  I  am  ready  and  await  my  Gen- 
eral's call,'  are  realized  in  the  sad  event.  We  recognize 
in  their  import  his  fortitude  and  his  exalted  sense  of  duty. 
In  the  immediate  relations  now  severed  by  the  death  of 
our  friend  the  memory  of  Mr.  Farley  remains  to  us  a 
heritage  of  valued  associations,  due  to  his  sterling  qual- 
ities, cordiality  and  refinement  of  feeling,  manly  dignity, 
and  unvarying  kindness  in  the  intercourse  of  life." 

Where  the  gauge  of  human  life  and  the  propor- 
tionate fitness  of  things  is  measured  (as  at  the  present 
day)  by  the  scale  and  the  ledger  of  ''profit  and  loss,"  the 
thought  here  finds  expression : 

Stands  the  "specter  at  feast,"  and  we  lose  or  we  make 
By  the  false  smiles  we  give  and  the  false  hands  we  take, 
And  when  the  end  comes,  the  false  words  that  are  said 
Merely  balance  the  book  for  the  man  who  is  dead. 

We  brought  nothing  here,  we  take  nothing  away ; 
A  life  but  the  tinsel  and  sham  of  the  day. 
By  its  tinsel  'tis  gauged  if  we  fail  in  life's  plan, 
By  its  sham  are  we  lauded  or  scorned  as  a  man. 

'Tis  a  whimsical  world,  where  we  measure  the  dross 
By  scales  and  the  ledger  of  profit  and  loss. 
Some  lives  are  well  earned  and  some  lives  crassly  spent, 
But  for  each  and  for  all,  God  zvill  judge  the  intent. 

J.  P.  F. 


Jt»tin* /  »■'?<?»  '"  -* 


■3+ 


APPENDIX. 

BY 

Joseph  Pearson  Farley,  U.  S.  A. 


The  intimate  association  of  my  father  with  General 
Lafayette  at  "La  Grange,"  as  shown  by  one  of  the  letters 
of  the  series,  induces  me  to  refer  in  brief  to  the  interest 
manifested  by  Lafayette  in  the  West  Point  defenses  and, 
for  reason  which  will  become  apparent,  to  the  principal 
fortification  on  the  Hudson  River — Old  Fort  Putnam. 

On  the  morning  of  the  28th  of  September,  1780, 
four  days  after  the  capture  of  Andre,  Major  Talmadge, 
of  the  American  Army,  started  with  his  prisoner  from 
West  Point  to  King's  Ferry  and  placed  him  by  his  side 
on  the  after  seat  of  his  barge.  They  were  passing  below 
the  rocky  heights  of  West  Point  in  full  sight  of  the  for- 
tress when  Talmadge  asked  Andre  "if  he  would  have 
taken  an  active  part  in  the  attack  on  it,  should  Arnold's 
plan  have  succeeded."  Andre  promptly  answered  in  the 
affirmative;  pointed  out  a  table  of  land  on  the  west 
shore,  where  he  would  have  landed  at  the  head  of  a  se- 
lect corps,  described  the  route  he  would  have  taken  up 
the  mountain  to  a  height  in  the  rear  of  Fort  Putnam, 
overlooking  the  whole  parade  of  West  Point — "and  this 
he  did,"  writes  Talmadge,  "with  much  greater  exactness 
than  I  could  have  done."  This  eminence  he  would  have 
reached  without  difficulty,  as  Arnold  would  have  dis- 
posed of  the  garrison  in  such  manner  as  to  be  capable 

135 


136  OVER  SEAS 

of  little  or  no  opposition,  "and  then  the  key  of  the  coun- 
try zvould  have  been  in  his  hands,  and  he  would  have 
had  the  glory  of  the  splendid  achievement." 

On  September  24th,  the  day  that  the  report  of  Andre's 
capture  was  made  to  Arnold,  George  Washington,  Lafay- 
ette, and  Knox  started  on  an  early  morning  ride  from 
Fishkill  on  the  Hudson  to  breakfast  with  General  and 
Mrs.  Arnold  at  the  Robinson  House  on  the  opposite 
shore  from  West  Point. 

Washington  Irving  tells  us  that  these  men  were  of 
the  very  few  with  whom  Washington  was  disposed  to 
unbend — the  buoyant  Marquis  and  the  genial,  warm- 
hearted Knox,  and  that  on  this  occasion  the  General 
commanding  our  Army  was  in  excellent  spirits. 

Washington,  when  nearing  the  Robinson  House, 
turned  down  a  cross-road  leading  to  the  river  to  inspect 
a  redoubt,  but  was  reminded  by  Lafayette  that  Mrs. 
Arnold  must  be  waiting  breakfast  for  him.  "Ah !  Mar- 
quis," he  said  good-humoredly,  "you  young  men  are  all 
in  love  with  Mrs.  Arnold.  I  see  you  are  eager  to  be 
with  her  as  soon  as  possible.  Go  you  and  breakfast  with 
her,  and  tell  her  not  to  wait  for  me."  The  Marquis  and 
General  Knox  turned  off,  however,  and  accompanied 
him,  while  Hamilton  and  McHenry,  their  aides,  went  on 
with  an  apology  for  the  delay.  The  latter  officers  were 
at  the  table  when  Arnold  received  the  Jameson  letter  an- 
nouncing the  capture  of  Andre,  and  in  the  absence  of 
Washington,  Arnold  was  able  to  effect  his  escape  under 
pretext  of  being  called  suddenly  to  West  Point,  a  thing 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  137 

he  could  not  have  done  had  the  distinguished  officers 
been  his  guests. 

At  a  later  hour  in  the  day,  when  the  papers  taken 
from  Andre"  were  handed  Washington  at  West  Point 
(where  he  had  gone  with  Lafayette  to  inspect  Fort 
Putnam),  after  reading  them  with  his  usual  equanimity, 
and  suppressing  whatever  of  agitation  he  may  have  felt, 
he  placed  them  in  the  hands  of  Lafayette  and  said, 
"Whom  can  we  trust  now?" 

It  may  here  be  remarked  that  Lafayette's  interest 
in  West  Point  and  its  fortifications  was  in  large  measure 
due  to  the  fact  that  many  of  the  works  were  planned 
by  French  engineers,  with  Colonel  Gouvion  as  chief. 

In  November,  1780,  shortly  after  the  above  incident, 
the  Marquis  Chastellux  visited  its  defensive  works.  Of 
Fort  Clinton  he  speaks,  as  "a  redoubt  that  is  suffered 
to  go  to  ruin,"  and  he  regarded  it  as  "useless."  Of  Fort 
Putnam  he  says:  "It  is  placed  on  a  rock  very  steep  on 
every  side.  The  ramparts  were  at  first  constructed  with 
trunks  of  trees,  but  later  of  stone,  with  powder  maga- 
zines, bomb-proof,  a  large  cistern,  and  souterrains  for  the 
garrison. 

A  worthy  and  successful  effort  has  been  made  to 
rescue  from  decay  old  Fort  Putnam,  as  no  project  of  ren- 
ovation of  ancient  works  of  defense  is  more  entitled  to 
such  reclamation  than  this  landmark  of  the  Revolution. 
It  deserves  to  stand  as  a  memento  of  a  critical  period  in 
national  history.  It  could  not  be  more  appropriately 
placed,  moreover,  since  it  will  be  easily  accessible  to  the 


1 38  OVER  SEAS 

young  men  who  successively  receive  a  thorough  training 
for  a  career  in  the  military  establishment.  They  can 
have  no  better  influence  near  them  than  this  structure  of 
stone,  which,  nearly  ninety  years  ago,  has  been  described 
as  "a  shapeless  and  desolated  mass  of  heaped-up  granite.'. 

It  is  stated  in  Holden's  Centennial  Book  on  West 
Point  that  this  important  defense  of  the  Hudson  was 
commenced  in  April,  1780,  by  the  Fifth  Massachusetts 
Regiment,  under  Colonel  Rufus  Putnam,  for  whom  it  is 
named.  Colonel  La  Radiere,  a  young  French  engineer, 
was  very  assiduous  in  planning  and  laying  out  Fort 
Putnam,  and  after  his  death  he  was  succeeded  by  Colo- 
nel Thaddeus  Kosciusko,  a  Pole,  as  engineer.  The  latter 
officer  was  much  esteemed  by  his  superiors  and  by  the 
Army  at  large,  he  having  had  more  practice  than  Colonel 
Radiere.  The  Marquis  Chastellux,  in  visiting  West  Point 
shortly  after  the  capture  of  Andr6  and  the  flight  of  Ar. 
nold,  describes  Fort  Putnam.  In  addition  to  what  has 
above  been  stated,  he  says:  "It  has  three  outlaying 
strong  redoubts  lined  with  cannon,  and  could  sustain  a 
formidable  siege.  Washington  and  Lafayette  and  Knox, 
after  breakfasting  at  the  Robinson  House,  followed  Ar- 
nold over  to  West  Point,  where  it  was  said  Arnold  had 
gone  when  he  took  his  hasty  departure  an  hour  before 
Washington's  arrival,  so  that  the  General  commanding 
and  his  associates  inspected  the  fort  a  few  hours  after 
Arnold's  escape  on  September  25,  1780." 

With  these  dates  and  facts  in  mind,  one  may  read 
the  following  letter  of  Cadet  Farley  with  appreciation  of 


PLAN 

des  Forts.Bauene 
«  Poste  de  VTest-Poim 

i;8o 

3T7 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  139 

the  sentiment  which  was  evoked  by  the  crumbling  ram- 
parts on  the  wooded  summit.  The  letter,  with  a  veritable 
irony  of  fate,  breaks  off  just  at  a  place  where  it  promises 
to  be  more  than  expressive,  and  I  have  ventured  to  supply 
the  missing  and  it  may  be  the  closing  words.  The  letter 
containing  the  description  of  the  old  fort  is  dated  July  20, 
1820,  and  the  boy  cadet  of  sixteen  was  at  the  time  a 
member  of  the  Third  Class,  graduating  in  1823,  into  the 
artillery  arm  of  service. 

"West  Point,  N.  Y.,  July  20,  1820. 

"This  afternoon  I  turned  my  course  in  another  di- 
rection and  climbed  to  the  heights  of  Fort  Putnam,  which 
now  ruinated  fortress  once  proudly  commanded  the  river 
and  plain  on  which  the  Academy  now  stands.  This  dilap- 
idated pile,  when  seen  from  the  plain,  still  bears  some  re- 
semblance to  what  it  was  in  its  proudest  days,  but  a 
nearer  inspection  at  once  banishes  the  illusion,  and  we 
now  find  it,  after  the  lapse  of  a  half-century,  a  shapeless 
and  desolate  mass  of  heaped-up  granite. 

"I  had  seen  a  painting  which  represented  it  as  it  was 
'in  days  of  yore,  in  days  which  tried  men's  souls,'  and  the 
comparison  is  truly  melancholy — the  change,  though  for 
the  better,  inspires  us  with  serious  thoughts  of  the  decay 
and  mutability  of  worldly  glory.  The  painting  to  which 
I  allude  represents  the  fortress  as  it  was,  with  all  its  prep- 
aration for  offense  and  defense — with  its  posted  sentinels 
and  its  standard  of  thirteen  stripes  floating  above  it. 
That  standard  has  long  since  moulder'd  to  dust.  The 
names  of  a  few  of  those  sentinels  may  be  found  on  the 
mouldy  gravestones  hidden  among  the  herbage  of  a 
narrow  path  along  the  margin  of  the  river;  their  Con- 
tinental uniforms  may  be  seen  in  moth-eaten  fragments 


i4o  OVER  SEAS 

in  the  store-houses  of  the  garrison,  and  the  dismounted 
cannon,  the  rusted  balls,  and  the  embrasures  now  lie  in 
one  promiscuous  heap  in  the  valley  beneath. 

"When  I  visit  such  scenes  I  cannot  help  indulging 
in  the  reflections  which  they  naturally  inspire.  The  feel- 
ings partake  too  much  of  poetry  to  be  congenial  with  those 
of  the  world  at  large,  but  you,  who  know  how  to  appre- 
ciate them  and  the  enthusiasm  of  one  of  my  age,  will 
surely  excuse  them. 

"In  the  spirit  of  Ossian,  I  may  say:  'I  have  seen  the 
walls  of  Baclutha,  but  they  are  desolate.  The  fira  had 
sounded  in  the  halls,  and  the  voice  of  the  people  is  heard 
no  more.  The  thistle  shook  there  its  lonely  head.  Deso- 
late is  the  dwelling  of  Moina,  silence  is  in  the  house  of  her 
fathers.  They  have  but  fallen  before  us,  for  one  day  we 
must  fall.  Why  dost  thou  build  the  hall,  son  of  the  winged 
days?  Thou  lookest  from  the  towers  to-day;  a  few  years 
and  the  blast  of  the  desert  comes — we  shall  be  renowned 
in  our  day !  The  mark  of  my  arm  shall  be  in  battle,  my 
name  is  the  song  of  the  bard.  When  thou  sun  of  heaven 
shall  fail,  our  fame  shall  survive  thy  beams.'  (Such  was 
the  song  of  Fingal  in  his  day  of  joy.)  Such  are  my  re- 
flections on  visiting  those  places  which  have  become  clas- 
sic from  their  connection  with  Revolutionary  events,  and 
a  feeling  of  patriotism  amounting  to  enthusiasm  thrills 
through  our  breasts. 

"We  feel  a  species  of  veneration  for  the  soil  our 
fathers  trod  and  fertilized  with  their  blood,  together  with 
a  kind  of  superstitious  awe,  as  if  we  were  in  the  presence 
of  their  departed  shades.  We  feel  a  curiosity  to  explore 
all  those  scenes  which  are  identified  with  their  deeds,  and 
to  inquire  into  all  the  particulars  connected  with  the 
achievement  of  our  independence.  We  feel  a  satisfaction 
in  invoking  the  shades  of  our  ancestors  and  brushing 
from  their  shrouds  the  accumulated  dust  of  years.     We 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  141 

love  to  dwell  upon  their  virtues  and  to  emulate  in  them 
all  that  is  noble  or  good  or  admirable,  and  to  fix  our 
studious  attention  upon  those  splendid  models  whose 
virtuous  deeds  we  have  from  infancy  been  taught  to 
venerate  This  desire  to  search  into  the  past  may  be  as- 
similated to  that  curiosity  which  prompts  us  to  look  with 
prophetic  ken  into  the  future.  This  desire  is  innate,  and 
its  indulgence  is  one  of  the  most  pleasing  we  can  ex- 
perience. Man  has  a  natural  propensity  to  retrace  the 
obscure  mazes  of  the  past,  to  review  those  objects  which 
time  has  nearly  blended  with  oblivion,  and  to  struggle 
with  memory  in  the  renewal  of  the  appearance  and  line- 
aments of  those  before  whom  death  would  interpose  an 
impenetrable  veil.  Thus  the  lone  cemetery,  the  battle- 
field, or  the  deserted  city  at  times  engage  our  sympathy, 
share  our  contemplation,  and  become  the  themes  of 
poetic  inspiration.  To  the  poet  or  the  philosopher  the 
contemplation  of  such  subjects  is  an  enjoyment  that  par- 
takes more  of  a  luxury  than  a  mere  melancholy  pleasure, 
for  they  furnish  aliment  for  the  imagination  of  one  and  a 
moral  lesson  for  the  reasoning  powers  of  the  other — one, 
with  the  wand  of  fancy,  repeoples  every  spot  and,  by  tra- 
ditionary or  legendary  aid,  re-acts  every  scene  of  the  past 
drama,  while  the  other,  more  calm  and  reflecting,  finds  a 
moral  in  each  evidence  of  worldly  mutability.  In  treading 
in  the  footsteps  of  our  forefathers,  which  have  not  only 
been  consecrated  by  their  devotion  to  the  cause  of  liberty, 
but  by  their  blood,  we  are  ready  to  exclaim,  in  the  lan- 
guage of  Ossian:  'There  comes  a  voice  that  awakens  my 
soul — it  is  the  voice  of  years  that  are  gone.  They  roll 
before  me  with  all  their  deeds.' 

"We  are  willing  to  imagine  that  the  spirit  of  our  an- 
cestors, those  heroes  of  old,  still  hovers  around  us  and  in- 
cites us  to  simulate  their  bold  actions,  and  that  their 
spirit  deserves  to  rest  upon  their  sons  like  the  mantle  of 


142  OVER  SEAS 

Elijah,  though  their  spirits,  like  his,  have  been  'caught  up 
to  Heaven.'  This  silent  and  dilapidated  ruin  that  over- 
looks the  halls,  where  sons  of  Revolutionary  patriots  are 
preparing  in  themselves  a  wall  of  strength  to  resist  in 
future  the  encroachments  of  tyranny  and  oppression — 
what  is  it?  'Tis  a  fortress  of  '76;  'tis  one  of  the  cra- 
dles of  our  infant  liberty;  'tis  one  of  those  noble  bea- 
cons of  independence  which  were  alike  the  landmarks 
to  freedom  and  the  caveat  to  the  oppressor.  'Twas  one 
of  those  memorable  spots  which  fostered  the  indignant 
spirit  of  our  wronged  country,  and  where  vengeance  pre- 
pared just  punishment  for  the  minions  of  tyranny.  But 
how  art  thou  fallen!  We  cannot  help  making  this  con- 
trast between  its  former  pride  and  its  present  desolation. 
A  few  crumbling  stones  remain,  which  have  resisted  the 
inroads  of  time,  and  these  are  fast  relapsing  to  their 
primitive  state.  Enough  remains  to  remind  us  of  the 
sacred  trust  entailed  upon  us  by  the  former  defenders 
of  our  liberties. 

"Whenever  man  resigns  his  empire,  decay  asserts 
her  own,  and  with  stealthy  but  sure  effect  proceeds  to 
demolish  the  proudest  works  of  his  hands. 

"The  ramparts,  once  finished  with  all  the  precision 
and  regularity  of  art  and  enlivened  with  the  busy  forms 
and  glittering  arms  of  the  soldiery,  now  present  only 
mis-shapen  figures,  with  here  and  there  a  stunted  cedar, 
whose  dark  verdure  is  relieved  by  the  distant  sky,  and  the 
interstices  of  the  loopholes  or  embrasures  are  filled  by 
rank  weeds  and  the  fissures  of  the  stones  with  the  lux- 
uriant ivy.  The  fallen  postern  is  now  hidden  by  the 
thistle  and  moss,  as  is  the  lowly  grave.  The  watchful 
sentinel,  who  once  appeared  at  its  avenues — his  quick 
challenge  no  longer  wakes  the  echoes  of  these  mouldering 
cells.  'The  drum  no  longer  proclaims  the  busy  note  of 
preparation'   and  startles  the  eagle  from  her  nest,  for 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  143 

silence  has  long  since  'marked  the  place  for  her  own,'  and 
her  reign  is  only  interrupted  at  times  by  the  moaning  of 
the  winds  and  the  shrill  and  fearful  scream  of  the  mount- 
ain bird,  who  exults  from  her  eyrie  over  the  ruined  haunts 
of  man. 

"Where,  we  ask,  are  those  crowds  which  once  in- 
habited this  spot?  Where  is  all  that  pomp  of  martial 
display?  Where  are  those  glittering  ranks  and  those 
noble,  those  heroic  souls,  who  preferred  to  ignominious 
bondage  a  glorious  death — death  ? 

"Yes,  we  are  answered.  In  the  hollow  echoes  of 
these  deserted  cells  we  are  answered.  Death  has  long 
since  released  them;  death,  with  unerring  aim,  has  swept 
them  from  the  face  of  the  earth;  nothing  now  remains 
of  them.  But  no.  Even  while  I  stood  contemplating 
this  wreck  of  matter  my  reverie  was  broken  by  the  sound 
of  approaching  footsteps,  and  turning  around  towards  the 
're-entrant  angle'  of  the  bastion,  where  the  gateway  had 
once  been,  I  saw  through  the  opening  a  figure  slowly 
wending  its  way  up  the  steep  path  towards  the  postern. 
It  stopped  and  gazed  wistfully  around  for  a  moment  and 
then  continued  on.  As  he  advanced  I  saw  that  it  was  a 
venerable  and  decrepit  old  man,  leaning  upon  a  staff  with 
which  he  with  difficulty  supported  his  feeble  and  tottering 
frame,  and  who,  from  time  to  time,  was  obliged  to  stop 
from  exhaustion  to  recover  strength  to  proceed.  Sur- 
prised at  the  sudden  apparition  of  one  whom  I  could 
hardly  have  believed  would  have  scaled  these  heights 
without  some  powerful  motive  for  so  doing,  I  awaited 
his  approach,  and  as  he  neared  the  place  where  I  stood  I 
could  discover  from  his  venerable  aspect,  the  antiquated 
fashion  of  his  costume  and  his  silvery  locks"  [that  this 
was  none  other  than  "Old  Father  Time"]. 

Exception,  but  of  a  very  gracious  nature,  has  been 
taken  at  my  added  words  in  brackets,  the   impression 


144  OVER  SEAS 

being  that  this  was  some  survivor  of  the  Revolutionary 
War,  who  was  there  perhaps  to  tell  us  more  of  this  old 
Revolutionary  relic.  For  my  own  part,  I  prefer  to  think 
of  the  old  man  of  the  woods  as  I  believe  my  father,  in  the 
metaphorical  light,  viewed  him  and  was  about  to  de- 
scribe him  in  the  letter,  faded,  crumpled,  and  yellowed 
by  age. 

The  accompanying  photographs — the  one  showing 
Fort  Putnam  as  it  appeared  to  my  father  in  1820  and  to 
the  boys  of  my  date  (1861)  as  well — will  be,  it  is  believed, 
of  special  interest  to  the  reader  in  this  connection  and 

indeed  the  as  it  appears  to-day.      A   second 

photograph,  showing  the  work  now  in  progress,  looking 
towards  the  restoration  and  preservation  of  this  ancient 
work,  "the  key  to  the  defenses  of  West  Point,"  may 
prove  of  equal  interest. 

Without  digression,  let  me  add  a  few  words  more 
from  the  letter  of  the  youthful  writer,  who,  in  expatiating 
upon  the  natural  beauties  of  West  Point,  shows  what 
promise  there  was  in  this  lad  of  sixteen  years — a  promise, 
I  trust,  that  has  been  realized  in  his  descriptive  letters 
of  later  years : 

"One  of  these  retreats,"  he  says,  "is  lovely  in  the 
extreme,  and  this  I  have  often  visited  whenever  ex- 
haustion from  almost  incessant  study  would  permit,  and 
was  as  often  reminded  of  those  Scottish  linns  which  are 
descanted  by  poets  among  the  Highlands.  In  this  se- 
cluded spot,  with  no  other  companion  than  my  pencil 
and  a  favorite  book,  I  have  spent  many  happy  hours — 
withdrawn  from  the  noisy  society  and  boisterous  mirth 
of  my  comrades,  and  forgetful  for  a  while  of  all  that  could 


- 


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O 


o 

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o 


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o 

-t 

n 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  145 

mar  my  enjoyment  and  of  all  sorrowful  recollections. 
Here  have  I  watched  the  sportive  leaps  of  the  little  catar- 
act issuing  from  the  numerous  clefts  of  its  rocky  bed  and 
its  eddying  whirls,  as  it  bounded  swiftly  by  my  feet  and 
went  in  joyful  currents  down  the  valley  to  its  confluence 
with  the  river.  Its  rising  spray,  settling  upon  the  verdure 
of  the  foliage  and  the  mossy  carpet  of  the  rocks,  im- 
parted a  most  exhilarating  freshness  and  fragrance  to 
the  surrounding  atmosphere.  Here  have  I  attempted  in 
vain  the  graphic  power  of  perpetuating  such  scenes  till 
my  pencil  has  been  thrown  aside  in  utter  hopelessness  of 
depicting  them.  The  animated  and  living  current;  the 
fantastic  boughs  of  overhanging  trees ;  the  thick  herbage ; 
the  wreathing  ivy  and  grape,  and  the  purple  grey  of  the 
granite  rocks,  all  conspired  to  baffle  the  illusive  powers 
of  the  pencil." 

And  now,  while  I  am  at  it,  a  word  for  the  one  of  all 
others  who  can  best  understand  and  appreciate  the  senti- 
ment which  belongs  to  West  Point — to  her  sons,  and  is 
part  of  her  very  life — the  dear  one  who  has  shared  the 
troubles,  joys,  and  triumphs  of  her  own  cadet: 

"There  are,"  she  writes,  "certain  tunes  which  make 
me  actually  see  West  Point.  In  the  silent  watches  of  the 
night,  in  fancy's  dream,  I  hear  the  gay  lilt  of  'The  Blue 
Danube'  and  see  the  slim  gray  coats  whirling  'round  the 
old  hall  in  the  giddy  mazes  of  the  dance  with  some  fair 
partner." 

How  many  memories  are  treasured  up  in  her  dear, 
fond  heart!  How  many  like  her  have  entered  with  per- 
haps a  sisterly  interest  in  all  of  a  brother's  class,  and  have 
felt  the  charm  of  West  Point  with  youthful  enthusiasm 
and  intense  delight! 


146  OVER  SEAS 

"Yes,"  writes  the  widow  of  a  gallant  officer  and  the 
mother  of  one  not  less  distinguished,  "I  went  to  West 
Point  in  1849  and  danced  with  cadets.  In  1863  I  was 
present  with  my  sister  at  the  graduation  of  her  brilliant, 
gallant  son.  We  were  all  so  devoted  to  him,  and  little 
thought  that  his  career  would  so  soon  be  over." 

Her  words  breathe  inspiration,  reflected  in  the  mellow 

light    of   other   days — of   days    "when   we   were    young 

together." 

"May  coming  years  with  her  most  kindly  deal, 
And  sweeter  blessings  day  by  day  reveal. 
Her  cup  of  life  with  richest  joys  o'erflow, 
Health,  wealth,  and  happiness — all  the  good  we  know." 


ADDENDA. 


The  relations  of  my  father  and  the  family  at  "La 
Grange"  may  the  better  be  understood  from  the  three 
letters  found  in  the  package  with  the  letters  from  Eu- 
rope. The  "Fair  Recluse"  was  undoubtedly  one  of  the 
granddaughters  of  Lafayette,  and  her  letter,  written  in 
a  delicate  hand  on  paper  gilded  on  its  edge  (a  rarity  in 
those  days),  is  "a  perfect  gem,"  as  one  of  our  country- 
women has  been  pleased  to  regard  it. 

The  letter  of  introduction  to  Lafayette  was  either 
from  General  Macomb  or  Secretary  of  War  Barbour. 
The  signature  has  been  torn  off. 

The  letter  concerning  the  vase  may  best  be  under- 
stood from  the  fact  that  when  the  frigate  bore  Lafayette 
from  our  shores  to  France  on  the  occasion  of  his  last  visit 
to  America,  the  midshipmen  of  that  vessel  made  up  a 
purse  of  $300  to  purchase  and  present  a  vase  of  silver  to 
the  Marquis  as  a  tribute  of  respect,  and  my  father  was 
requested  by  the  American  Consul  to  make  the  design. 

J.  P.  F. 

''The  'Fair  Recluse'  to  the  complimentary  Chevalier,  health 
and  greeting: 

"She  feels  herself  infinitely  obliged  to  him  for  all  his 
complimentary  prognostications,  but  is  rather  inclined  to 
suspect  that  upon  a  more  intimate  acquaintance  he  will 
find  himself  less  dazzled  than  he  at  present  anticipates 

H7 


148  OVER  SEAS 

by  'the  full  meridian  splendour  of  those  virtues  and  ac- 
complishments' which  he  has  had  the  kindness  to  at- 
tribute to  her.  She  assures  him,  notwithstanding,  that 
the  desire  of  becoming  better  acquainted  is  reciprocal, 
and  she  will  certainly  not  fail  to  do  so  when  next  he 
crosses  the  ocean — should  he  retain  the  same  inclination, 
after  having  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing  how  far  the 
'full  meridian  splendour'  falls  short  of  his  expectations. 
She  hopes,  however,  that  his  estrangement  from  his 
friends  and  country  will  not  be  of  so  long  continuance  as 
to  admit  the  full  development  of  so  much  splendour. 
She  begs  that  he  would  accept  her  sincere  thanks  for  his 
kind  remembrance  of  her  in  the  beautiful  little  engraving 
which  he  has  been  so  extremely  good  as  to  forward  her, 
the  beauties  of  which  she  was  just  about  to  expatiate 
upon,  but  the  unsentimental  interruption  of  the  arrival 
of  a  music-master  will  prevent  her.  He  must  imagine  all 
the  pretty  things  she  would  have  said.  Unbounded  scope 
is  allowed  his  imagination." 

To  Lafayette  from  the  Secretary  of  War  or  Gen- 
eral Macomb. 

"Washington,  June  22,  1828. 

"My  dear  Sir, — My  estimable  young  friend,  Mr.  Far- 
ley, the  bearer  of  this,  visits  Europe  for  the  purpose  of 
improving  him  in  the  sciences.  He  is  a  distinguished  grad- 
uate from  our  West  Point  Academy,  and  very  much  be- 
loved and  esteemed  by  all  who  know  [him].  May  I  solicit 
your  kind  attentions  and  civilities  towards  him  during  his 
stay  at  Paris? 

"Present  me,  I  pray  you,  to  Madame,  and  believe  me 
as  ever,  Yours  most  truly," 

(When  found,  the  signature  was  cut  off.) 


IN  EARLY  DAYS.  149 

"American  Consulate. 
"Dear  Sir,— On  thinking  more  about  the  vase  and 
your  patriotic  (for  'tis  truly  patriotic)  offer  of  assistance, 
if  you  will  have  the  goodness  to  furnish  (in  addition  to 
Havre  and  the  Vault)  a  view  of  the  Capitol,  it  would 
complete  the  object.  The  Capitol  would  represent  the 
arrival  and  the  frigate  the  return  of  the  General.  The 
arms  or  eagle,  like  the  civic  crown,  can  be  placed  elsewhere 
in  silver. 

'  'Very  truly  your  obedient  servant, 

"I.C.  B.  BarnET. 
"Lieut.  Farley,  U.  S.  A.,  Paris." 


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